Winds of Promise
by Legion117
Summary: From the first moment he saw her, he was falling in love with her, but she's not who he expected. AoT From POV of my Original Characters and numerous characters from AoT and features a romance between Josh Kassmeyer(OC) and Annie Leonhardt (Anime Spoilers) Contains Violence/Language/Humor/Intimacy/Feels (Feedback is appreciated to improve later chaps; I greatly value viewer Input)
1. Chapter 1: First Night in The Barracks

Two years after the fall of Wall Maria...

Year 847, Near the Cadet Training Camp, Interior of Wall Rose.

"Oh my God, this is so exciting I can't believe we're actually going. We're joining the cadets! We're going to be soldiers and get to kill titans and shit and the uniforms are so badass." Jansen Duerk excitedly spoke, thinking aloud again. If he was talking to someone in particular, no one was actually listening. Walking beside him were Albrecht Johannes, Aline Holde, and Josh Kassmeyer; all of whom were more anxious than their compatriot about the whole ordeal.

"Listen, Jans can you calm down for five minutes so we can have a little peace and quiet? You've hardly stopped talking since we left Karanese." Albrecht said annoyed.

"How can you not be excited Alb, we're going to be titan killing heroes like the ones in the Scout Regiment when we finish our training." Jansen was practically glowing with excitement.

Aline shot him a reproachful look "Are you crazy? You've heard about the scout expeditions, people die out there; people die a lot. That push two years ago to retake Wall Maria, remember thousands of people were killed and the operation failed. If you ask me, we're a lot better off joining the Garrison Regiment, higher chance of us living long enough to do something valuable with our training instead of being snack food."

Josh remained quiet, looking around absentmindedly as they approached the last leg of their journey. His thoughts were far from carefree however, plagued with dozens of what if scenarios that could transpire during training and in the time after. It was all conjecture though, being from Karanese District he'd only ever heard stories of the titans in the horror stories from the Shiganshina survivors that had found their way to Karanese in the weeks following the evacuation of Wall Maria. If any of what they said was true, he couldn't blame Aline for saying what she said. Everyone except Jansen had planned on joining the Garrison Regiment from the beginning and there was still time to talk him out of the scouts before there would be any need to think about titan fighting. That seemed to Josh like a lifetime away now though. The Cadet Training Corps was like a school and it would take three years of hard training and study before they were done. He figured that he may as well cross the service branch bridge when it came up and take things one day at a time like his dad always told him. He was broken from his reverie when he bumped into Albrecht. The group had stopped. Josh peeked around them and saw that they were gazing down into a valley. Tucked away inside it, visible in the distance, was the training camp. It was an austere looking place; not quite what they were expecting oddly enough. From the top of the rise they could see the whole area around the base. The roads going down to the fenced in compound were pock marked with people here for the same reason they were.

"Wow, so this is it huh? Home sweet home for the next couple years I guess. I thought there would be a bit more to it. Well at least we're getting the disappointment out of the way before we get there." Albrecht sighed heavily.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks Alb, we have to make the most of it either way." Josh clapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, and besides they have to make us tough so we'll be able to kill titans someday; can't do that if we're living it up like we're in the capitol." Jansen was grinning from ear to ear.

Aline was watching the groups of travelers intently. "I hope we meet some interesting people. There has to be people from every city here I bet. I've heard that there will even be people from the upper class towns well behind Wall Sina enrolled for studies here." Josh was sure her interest was squarely on boys when she said interesting people. She always tried to gather as many of them together to fight over her everywhere she went. Aline had always been a little bit evil or sociopathic in that regard. How they'd all been friends with her so long and not been prey to her machinations was often a mystery to him.

"Well then let's get a move on, it's only about an hour to sundown and I don't want to miss dinner." Josh slapped Jansen on the shoulder. "Come on man I'll race you there. I bet you still can't quite beat me like you tried to do all those times when we played tag in the town square." Josh hucked his bag over his shoulder and took off running, Jansen in close pursuit. Albrecht and Aline called after them to wait up, but the two were already gone and once they got going you couldn't stop either of them. Most of the time they wondered why they even bothered trying to; Josh and Jansen were as competitive as they were fast, so they were left chasing after their friends' dust clouds. By all regards, they were an odd collection of people. Even though none of them ever said as much, that factor was probably what had kept them together for so long. At least that was what Albrecht thought most of the time.

Down the hill, Josh and Jansen were neck and neck, just like always. The two had been running with each other for much of their young lives and that probably wouldn't change. They shot taunts at each other and laughed like madmen as they barreled past others on the road towards the front gate, which drew worried glances from more than a couple people. Neither of them really cared how crazy they seemed; they were used to being thought of as such. Josh was able to put the events of the coming days and months from his mind and let the feeling of adrenaline take over as he reveled in the sport with his long time friend. "Like dad always said, just take it one day at a time." Josh smiled as the gate and their futures loomed up ahead of them. By the time that Albrecht and Aline had caught up with them, both he and Jansen had stopped, realizing that there hadn't been anyone to keep track of who won or lost. Both of their other friends looked winded and a little ragged and Josh and Jansen laughed. "So, could you guys see who won the race from way back there?" Jansen shifted his eyes between Alb and Aline.

"Nobody, you're both jackasses and I'm leaving it at that." Aline panted.

The evening was slow to pass and mostly involved getting paperwork and billeting sorted. Recruits were still streaming in from all over the countryside and the commanders didn't wish to convene with the cadets in the mess hall until they were all present. So, there wasn't really a dinner time per se; each person basically just got a bread roll and half a boiled potato after they signed a few papers and received their uniform items. It wasn't surprising that Jansen had already changed into his the moment they set foot in their assigned bunk house.

"You're planning on wearing that to bed aren't you?" Josh shook his head and flopped down onto his bunk as Jansen made poses in front of a mirror.

"To be honest guys, I don't think I'll ever take it off. Something about being in this just feels right. Plus, the ladies always love a man in uniform." He saluted into the mirror and adopted a stoic expression to add to his delusion of grandeur.

"Well, if you go about it that way, you're going to smell like shit in a few days I can promise you that you will be sleeping outside and since when were women ever impressed by anything you did?" Albrecht said as he set his bag down and took stock of the quarters; Jansen probably hadn't even heard him. Looking around the barracks were about as military as you could expect, a wooden cabin with wooden bunk beds arrayed in four rows of six. No ornamentation of any kind and the mirror was the only decoration in the building. No surprises here to contradict the view from the ridge earlier.

"When do you think we'll get to meet the other cadets?" Aline said as she bobbed up and down on her bed. "I've heard a couple of the other girls saying that there are a bunch of cute boys from Trost here. I hope I can have one, or two, or three." She sighed dreamily to herself as her mind went in to daydreaming mode.

Josh rolled his eyes and sat up. "Oh please, get your mind out of school girl mode. That's not why we're here; we don't have time to be caught up in all that romance crap and we really don't have time for you to manipulate every guy you come across."

Aline shot him an irritated look and stuck out her tongue. "You said we had to make the most of our time here, and I plan to do just that, so you can shove it."

The four of them turned when they heard the door open. Around thirty boys and girls came through and began claiming bunks. Aline immediately made a beeline for the cutest boy she could find and started flirting. Jansen straightened up and did his best to look like he was playing it cool and shot a wink at some brown haired chick. He sauntered over to introduce himself, brushing back his hair and popping his collar. None of his friends said anything, but he was making himself look like a complete douche bag and Aline wasn't really acting much better herself. Jansen leaned against the bed frame. "Hey there beautiful, if you're looking for a bunk mate…"

"Are you going to finish that?" The girl said rather loudly.

"What?" Jansen looked rather confused.

"That, are you going to finish that?" She was pointing past him to the half roll of bread that was still on his unfolded napkin. Her mouth was watering and she looked almost deranged.

"Well um, I think that maybe I was going to but…" She didn't let him finish. She grabbed it and leapt up onto the top bunk next to him. She began fiendishly devouring the bread and grumbling in a predatory manner that was nothing short of creepy. Jansen collapsed back onto his bunk, bewildered beyond all recognition as to what had just happened. Josh looked over at Albrecht and they both chuckled to themselves. It was always amusing the ways Jans got himself derailed when he tried to act all smooth around girls. Josh turned back to unpacking his bag as a short guy with a buzz cut started talking to Albrecht. His eyes rose again as Aline skipped over and jumped into her chosen bunk. She had that look on her face again.

"You already creeped out one of the guys over there did you?" Josh raised his eyebrow.

Aline blew a raspberry at him. "No I didn't, as a matter of fact I think he likes me just fine thank you. His name is Jean, he's one of those dreamy boys from Trost I heard about earlier." She looked back and blew him a kiss. "He's an artist; he said he'd even draw me sometime when he got the chance."

"All of that's only because he doesn't know how crazy you are yet, give it a few days and he'll avoid you like a plague. Besides, I told you, we don't have time for that here; we need to focus on our training and studies."

"You're just jealous because all the guys want me and you couldn't get a girl if you tried."

"Like hell I couldn't. I could get a girl if really wanted one. I just don't…want one right now." The last part came out a little more awkward and flustered than the rest of it. Aline laughed at him and turned her attention on her next target before jumping up to go after him. Josh scowled a little bit before busying himself once again with his unpacking. "What does she know, I can get a girlfriend if I really wanted to, Aline's an idiot." He heard footsteps approaching somewhat cautiously, someone was distracting him from his task once again. It didn't sound like Albs footsteps and Aline was still certainly busy making herself an idol for man worship. Josh didn't bother to look up. "Jans, I'm not going to help you get with that girl so you can forget about asking. I'm not here to make up for your jackassery."

"Um, sorry to bother you but, is the top bunk taken?"

Josh looked up and into the face of a small blonde girl with big blue eyes. He flushed slightly, hoping he hadn't hurt her feelings. "Um, no no it's not; go right ahead and take it if you want. Um, sorry for the way I spoke to you. I thought you were someone else." He rubbed at the back of his neck, thoroughly embarrassed of himself.

To his complete surprise the girl gave him a hug and smiled. "Thank you so much, I just didn't want to be over by the scary girl with the bread and that pervert looking guy."

Josh looked over. "Oh, yeah that's Jans, the guy I thought you were a minute ago."

"Is he a friend of yours?"

"We grew up with each other yeah. He's one of the three people I came here with. The girl over there flirting with that group of guys is Aline, and that tall skinny guy over there is Albrecht. We all came here together from Karanese District."

"I've never been there, but I've heard it's nice. Speaking of which, thanks again for letting me have the bed." The girl smiled again as she climbed up onto the bunk. She leaned over the side and looked down. "I'm Krista by the way, and you never told me your name?"

"Josh…I'm Josh Kassmeyer, nice to meet you." He reached up and shook her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Josh, I'm sure we're going to be great friends and I'm glad you're nice enough to give a lady the bed she wants." She gave him another big smile and vanished from view.

"I'm sure we will be good friends too." he whispered not entirely to himself. She seemed like a nice if overly friendly girl. At least Josh was off to a good start with making friends, so he felt.

Now in a much better mood and with a minimal amount of further distraction, Josh finished organizing his stuff and laid back to listen to the chatter of the others. From the sound of things the hungry girl had gone off in search of more food and Jans had followed her out. Oddly enough, even with all the other people talking, it seemed a lot quieter without him jabbering on for hours on end. Josh reached into his bag and pulled out the brand new journal his dad had given him the day he left home. It felt like a lot longer than three days ago.

"You'll be the first person in our family to serve in the military in one hundred years my son. I suspected this day would come. Ever since the fall of Wall Maria I had a feeling the day would come when you felt the desire to serve. I was going to wait until your birthday to give you this, but since I don't know if you'll be able to come home around then I thought I might as well give it to you now." Mr. Kassmeyer fished in his pocket and handed Josh the journal.

"Dad, you didn't have to get me this. This is premium leather bound; it must have cost you an arm and a leg to buy something like this for me."

"Oh nonsense, if my son wants to be a writer someday, he'll need a place to write down his ideas and stories while he's off defending the country."

Josh sighed and smiled anxiously. "Thanks dad. I'll write in it as often as I can I promise." He looked down the hall. "Mom still doesn't want to come out and say goodbye?"

"Let her have her time. She's just worried about you. She doesn't want you to go and get yourself killed. You'll be back in a few months for vacation; until then, write letters for us and she'll be fine. While you're out there, just take life one day at a time and you'll get through it. Now get going son, Albrecht and Aline are here and you three still have to pick up Jansen."

"I promise I'll make you and mom proud and I'll stay safe. I'll be back before you know it." Josh gave his father a hug and ran out to join his friends for the long walk ahead. Three days and a ton of Jans' hyperactive ramblings later, here he was. He brought himself back to the present and sat up, making a mental note to write home tomorrow as he put the notebook away.

Aline trotted back over to her bed and sat cross-legged as she surveyed her recent handiwork. "With so many boys fighting over me, how can I possibly choose just one?" she laughed softly.

"You're a terrible human being you know that?" Josh said to her offhandedly.

"It's not my fault men are so attracted to me. Besides having a little flock to choose from I can get more out of it in the long haul."

"That actually makes you sound even worse, just so you know." Josh glanced up as he heard the door opening again. Two big men, both rather muscular looking, walked through it. He looked down as he put his bag under his bed. When his gaze drifted back up, a girl had come in just behind them. She had blonde hair like Krista's, but it was done up in a bun with a few strands hanging down in her face. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue-green and there was a fire in them despite how bored and uninterested she looked with everything. The hoodie she wore clung perfectly to figure and his imagination was already wandering. She was beautiful. She walked across the room to grab a bunk at the far end and his gaze followed her the whole way. When she passed by him, she looked in his direction and Josh's heart skipped.

"Can I help you with something, is there a reason you're staring at me?" The girl said flatly. Josh tried to say something, anything, but the words were caught in his throat. "Weirdo." She said as she walked on. Josh's eyes still followed her and he fought for words to come out of his mouth. She got to the end of the room and lay down on a top bunk. He swore under his breath, annoyed that he wasn't even able to say hi to her and instead stared like an idiot. He grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it, grumbling to himself. He heard Aline stifle a giggle and looked over at her angrily before glancing towards the blonde girl's bunk again.

"My my, haven't even spoken a word to her and you're already neck deep in the water for this girl. I thought you said that we wouldn't have time for all that "romantic crap" while we were here?" Aline smiled at the irony.

Josh turned over and laid face down in the pillow. "Aline, shut the hell up."


	2. Chapter 2: Luck and Punches

The next morning felt like it came way too early. An officer had come in and started banging on a metal plate to wake everyone up. Most of the cadets stirred groggily and sat up, yawning or rubbing their eyes. One or two were already getting dressed. That guy with the buzz cut Albrecht had spoken to yesterday had rolled off the top bunk he was on and fell to the floor. What did Alb say his name was? Connie? Yeah, that was it Connie Springer. Amazingly he looked unhurt and seemed more angry about being woken up than falling off of his bed. Josh got out of bed and looked up top. Krista was already awake and halfway dressed. Her bed was even made already.

"How in the hell are you already that close to being done getting ready?" Josh managed to say between yawns.

"Oh, hey there sleepyhead, it's nothing special really I just got plenty of sleep last night. Besides, the longer we take to get going, the colder breakfast is going to get and the later we'll be out in the hot sun for orientation today." Krista said as she starting doing up her boots.

"I wish I could think like that right after waking up. I would've been way more successful in my morning classes in grammar school." Josh pulled on his military issue trousers and started doing up his fasteners where his ODM gear would be placed later.

"Well, you'll get used to the idea, the regiments don't exactly keep store hours now do they? Someday we'll probably be expected to do a lot more than think when we wake up in the morning." Krista jumped down from her bunk ready to go. Josh looked her up and down, almost in spite of himself. It was the first time he'd really gotten a look at her. The uniform suited her well.

She glanced over her shoulder as she brushed back her hair. She noted the path of his gaze and blushed. "Stop looking at me like that Josh, you're making me feel self conscious. I wish boys wouldn't stare at me so much." She turned her backside away from him and tried to hide her embarrassment.

"Sorry Krista, um I uh…wow, it looks like a nice day today. _You're making yourself look like an ass again, stop it._" He couldn't believe the way he'd been freezing up around girls. This was almost more awkward than the night before when the girl in the hoodie walked by. He stood up and pulled on his jacket. He looked down to say something and it took him a moment before he realized just how short Krista was. She must have been more than a full foot shorter than him and he was only 5'8. "Wow, you're really tiny Krista!_ What is wrong with you, you don't just say that to people; especially someone you've basically just met._ Shit, God I'm sorry, I blurt out things when I get embarrassed sometimes."

"It's okay, I get that a lot. I'm usually the shortest girl wherever I'm at so I'm used to it. Just pick your jaw up off the floor alright I feel like you're undressing me with your eyes." She rubbed her shoulder and looked down at the floor.

He couldn't believe this girl, so outgoing and sweet, but so shy and easily embarrassed. Every guy was going to be on her before the weekend hit. She could easily give Aline a run for her money and she didn't even have to try. Her small size also gave her a cuteness advantage over Aline. Her adorableness was the going to be the undoing of many a man; that much was certain.

"So, um thanks for not slapping me or anything Krista. I think any other girl would have if I'd been caught looking them over like that." Josh managed sheepishly.

Krista was already smiling again. "You're welcome, it's nice to meet someone who can acknowledge and be polite about this kind of stuff. Like I said before, I think we're going to be great friends." She looked pointedly at him. "JUST friends, keep that in mind from now on Kassy." She started towards the door. "Come on Josh, I'm getting hungry."

He got up to follow her. He was somewhat shocked by the sudden return of her overly cheerful nature; it was like she had a switch for it or something. It didn't weird him out really, it was just kind of surprising to see someone change demeanor so fast. He was too engrossed in his thoughts to pay attention to where he was going and he bumped into someone. This seemed to be becoming an all too regular occurrence of late. "Oh crap, I'm sorry I don't know where my mind is this mor…" The rest of it was lost as he saw who he'd run into. It was the girl from last night. _"Come on you retard, say something. You don't have to say much just say hi or ask her name or something just quit staring like that."_

"Oh, it's you again huh?" She looked up at him with those beautiful eyes of hers and his lip quivered a little bit. "What do you want? Are you going to say something? Annnddddd you're staring at me again. What is up with you and staring?" She eyed him suspiciously and he still found himself unable to form words when she was looking at him. "You're really weird." She walked off and he stood there in a stupor. He eventually came out of it, but when he did, she was long gone.

"Oh my lord, what is wrong with me? That's the second time." Josh smacked his forehead and sighed.

"I can think of plenty of things that are wrong with you. I could probably write a book about it to be completely honest. That stuff is seriously golden; I wish I'd known how awkward you were sooner." Aline said as she walked past him with Jansen in tow. "Hop to it loverboy, they aren't going to serve breakfast until we get there and I'd rather not piss anyone off on our first day."

Josh looked around and realized suddenly that everyone else had gone and they were the last ones to leave. This was kind of surreal, like he'd skipped forward in time. How long ago had Krista left? Had he really been standing there frozen for longer than a few seconds? He hurried out the door after his friends before pausing momentarily. An odd notion was just now registering in his brain. "Wait, did Krista really just call me Kassy?"

"Figure it out later Josh; I'm stupid hungry right now so move it." Jansen called back to him.

Josh shook himself a little bit and ran to catch up with his friends. He hoped a little food would help him sort things out a little bit easier. If he couldn't get his head on straight it was going to be a long week, never mind three years.

The trio arrived at the mess hall shortly thereafter. Aline laughing to herself every time she looked at Josh the entire way over. When they walked in the door, all eyes shifted to them. Aline being the ever so caring person she was decided to excuse their late arrival. "Sorry I'm late boys, Kassy and the simple one needed my help doing up their boots."

"What the hell did you just call me?" both of them said in unison.

"What's wrong, you don't like the endearing pet names I came up with for you?" she faked disappointment and skipped to her cluster of admirers. The eyes of the room were still on Josh and Jansen; it was the most uncomfortable silence either of them had ever endured. Krista ran over and pulled Josh to her table, sparing him any further penetrating stares. Jansen, finding himself now alone; hurriedly searched for a bench and slid into a seat next to a black haired girl wearing a scarf.

"Hey there gorgeous, what's your name and may I say you are looking all kinds of fine today?" The only response he got was a punch that sent him to the floor.

"Mikasa, you really need to stop punching people. That's the third time this week!" The boy next to her groaned in aggravation.

"Eren, I'm just protecting you; that guy was clearly a threat. I took action accordingly." The girl responded in monotone.

Josh looked on from across the room and privately wondered what they'd all gotten themselves into and why everyone seemed like they were five different kinds of insane. People in Karanese weren't nearly this bad on their worst day. Hopefully they were only like this when they were hungry. He hoped so especially when he looked over and saw the bread girl trying to claw her way through the kitchen door while she repeated the word hungry over and over again.

"So, what happened, where did you go? I got here and when I turned around you were gone." Krista said looking sidelong at Josh.

"You're going to think it's ridiculous, when I went to follow you out I bumped into someone. I was just so lost in thought I guess. I went to apologize, but when they looked at me I just couldn't talk all of a sudden and I just stood there like a statue for I don't know how long. It was the weirdest thing. When I came out of it, everyone was already gone."

"Was it that girl from last night that Aline made fun of you for staring at?"

"Oh, I um well…You overheard that then I guess?"

"Kind of hard not to, my bunk is right above yours."

"Yeah, well, at least you didn't see it. I made myself look even more stupid than earlier this morning. I've never been so embarrassed in my life; except maybe when it happened again before we were leaving the barracks." Josh rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, this is crazy; why couldn't I even manage to say hi or ask her name?"

Krista giggled. "It's because you have a crush on her."

Josh's face got red and he dropped his eyes. "I, I never said that. Those are your words not mine." His voice was a nervous whisper.

"You didn't have to; it's written all over your face. Hehe I've never seen a guy blush as bad as you are right now." Krista was trying to contain her giggling.

"Now you're the one making me feel self conscious." It never occurred to Josh that it was possible to feel this awkward and wrong footed and Krista wasn't helping the situation in the slightest.

"Sorry, it's just so adorable; seeing love at first sight and all that." Sigh. "I wonder what that feels like."

"Whoa, wait just a second; nobody said anything about being in love. Damn it Krista, stop putting words in my mouth, it's not helping." Josh buried his head in his hands, his composure teetering on the brink of collapse. A bell rang by the kitchen door and the cook started bringing out food. Josh leapt up and got in line, cutting off Krista in mid-sentence. The sooner he could distract himself from his thoughts the better. He grabbed his tray and slid along collecting some bread, a potato an apple, and a cup of water. Not exactly a feast by any means, but food production had become much more limited since the wall fell and everyone had to take what they could if they wanted to eat. Have to be grateful for that at least.

He hurried along back to his seat. He didn't quite make it though; a protruding nail tripping him up about half way and sending his meal flying. Before the food even hit the floor, the crazy hungry girl had already snatched the bread and potato and started gorging on them. Josh privately wondered how someone so obsessed with eating could still be so thin. Her metabolism must be scary high.

He rose to a crouch, picking up his apple and empty tin cup. All the water had spilled, _"Great, the psycho took most of my food and now I don't have anything to drink."_ As he made to get up, a pair of boots stopped in front of him, droplets of water hitting the floor around them. Josh clenched his eyes shut; now knowing where the contents of his cup had gone. _"Please don't let it be her. For the love of God please don't let it be her." _He dared to open an eye and look up. It was definitely her. "_Someone kill me now, I don't know how many more times I can take screwing up like this."_ She glowered at him through her wet bangs and her hand was balled into a fist.

"Heh, so…sorry, I think I best excuse myself before I cause anymore damage. My apologies for messing up your hair." Josh turned to leave before a hand came down hard on his shoulder. Yep, he was definitely going to get punched. He sighed heavily and turned halfway before a punch to his jaw sent him sprawling onto the floor. She bent down and scooped up his apple before walking away. _"I wonder if this is how Jans feels right now?" _He thought to himself as he stood shakily, the room was still spinning. He could see Aline laughing a few tables away, he steadied himself against a support beam while fighting the urge to punch her a couple of times. He looked around and a handful of people had gathered around him, they looked concerned even though he couldn't make out their features in detail.

"Are you okay? It looked like she hit you pretty hard." A small blonde figure asked him.

"Krista? You sound way different, what's wrong with your voice?" his vision slowly resolved itself, the person he saw was clearly a guy and he was accompanied by the two who he'd heard call each other Eren and Mikasa.

"Uh, my name is Armin actually. I think Krista is the one propping you up right now."

"By some stroke of misfortune, I guess that didn't kill me. I don't know what hurts more, my face or my dignity." Krista helped him stand straighter. "Other than that though, I think I'm okay; thanks for asking. Since my 'Friends' don't seem to be inclined to help."

"Don't look at me Josh, I'm not going anywhere near the punch happy chicks." Jansen was half cowering by Albrecht and Connie who both shrugged.

"At least you took it like a champ, you barely even flinched." The boy called Eren had a tone of approval in his voice.

Josh brushed Krista off before speaking again. He recoiled a little when he looked at the girl with the scarf. "She's not going to punch me is she?"

"Not unless you give me a reason to." She said softly.

"You don't get to hit anyone else today Mikasa, it's bad enough you did it once already." Eren's voice sounded almost pleading. "Come on man, you better eat something. We'll be forming up in the yard in a few minutes."

"Here Josh you can have my apple. We're going to be out there a while today." Krista offered it to him and he took it gratefully and gave her a pained smile.

"Thanks, you're an angel in disguise truly."

The door to the mess burst open and an officer entered the room. "Cadets, finish your food and report for formation you have three minutes!"

Out in sun baked yard, the more than two hundred cadets stood in rows as a shaved headed man took to the promontory at the front of the formation.

"Cadets, I am Commandant Keith Shadis and I will be your senior instructor. While you are here you will show me and this facility the proper respect is that understood?!"

"Yes Sir!" their voices all reverberated around the courtyard. The Commandant nodded as he took up station and began walking down the lines. He would select a few cadets in each row and berate them individually with a few general questions and insults before facing them about and moving on to the next line. Josh noted that a handful of the others Shadis addressed were also from Karanese though he wasn't sure he recognized any of them. He also saw that a few of the recruits were bypassed entirely: Eren, Mikasa, the two big guys, and to his disappointment, the blonde haired girl with the fiery eyes. He had hoped this would be his chance to find out what her name was, but that opportunity had vanished like smoke on the breeze. He glanced down the line a few paces Shadis had stopped in front of Jansen.

"What did they decide to call you when you crawled out of the womb scumbag?!"

"Sir, Cadet Jansen Duerk from the western portion of the Karanese District!"

"The west side eh, why are you spreading your ugly face all over my camp you rich boy prick?!"

"I want to join the Scout Regiment and kill titans Commandant!"

"Well isn't that outstanding, you and Arlert will undoubtedly prove a tasty meal for them!"

"I don't plan on getting eaten sir!"

"Nobody does recruit, are you suggesting I'm too stupid to understand that notion?"

"I, uh, well no I just…" Shadis kneed him in the crotch and Jansen doubled over, his eyes watering.

"You'll need bigger balls than that if you hope to last five minutes with the Survey Corps Cadet Duerk. Now get your ass up, no one said it was nap time!"

"Y Y Yessss…s s si sir!"

The Commandant continued down the line, interrogating Jean, some guy named Marco, and then Connie. He had Connie held off the ground by his head and was firing off another barrage of insults before a loud crunch attracted everyone's attention. Josh looked back; it was that weird girl who'd taken his food earlier. She was casually munching on another potato.

"You there, what do you think you're doing?" Shadis dropped Connie into the dirt.

The girl continued munching absentmindedly and Josh exchanged a worried glance with Krista.

"You are officially on my shitlist, just who in the hell are you?!"

The girl clutched the potato to her chest in salute and introduced herself as Sasha Braus from Dauper. Well, at least Josh could stop calling her hungry girl. Shadis continued to riddle her with questions. Before long the final nail in the coffin sounded painfully close.

"Here sir, you can have half." It wasn't even close to half. She smiled dumbly as Shadis studied the piece of food.

"Cadet Braus, when this formation is done, you will run around the yard until the sun goes down! Your meal privileges for the next five days are hereby revoked!" Shadis continued down the line and Sasha practically fainted, her face pale. She even dropped the potato.

The rest of the morning and afternoon passed without incident. The only thing that even approached entertaining was seeing Sasha run back and forth across the parade ground. When night time rolled around Krista snuck out to give her some bread and water while everyone else stood in a half circle around Eren as he talked about the titans he saw over dinner. Jean started running his mouth about Eren's and after a little while, it looked like they were going to get mixed up and go bare knuckle.

"Alb, should we do something about that?" Josh didn't really know Eren well, but Jean hung around with Aline and that was reason enough to dislike him and his pompous ass attitude.

"Why, it's not like it's our job to get in the middle of peoples' problems or anything." Albrecht was a lot more interested in eating than getting involved. "Besides, jackassery will get you screwed over whether you're an arrogant douche or an overconfident braggart. Just let them be and whatever happens will happen."

Josh kept looking on in anticipation, but after a tense moment the evening bell rang and everyone started dispersing either outside or towards their barracks; the incident had been more or less averted. He sighed and waved goodbye to Albrecht as he went outside into the cool night air.

As he left the mess hall he saw her again, walking off toward their bunkhouse. He decided to follow. He'd be damned if he let one more opportunity pass him by without at least figuring out what her name was. As he went he stayed back a bit, still feeling the sting on his cheek from the punch she threw that morning. He wasn't eager for a second one, but he'd take it if it meant having a conversation with her. He opened his mouth to call out but was stopped when he heard screaming in the distance. He looked back; someone was screaming something about bread and goddesses. Josh wondered further what was wrong with all the people here. He turned back to resume following the girl; when he did, she was gone again. _"Damn it I am not going to let this happen again. She's finally alone it'll be easier to talk to her without everyone else around. If I don't do it this time I probably never will."_ Josh felt a renewed sense of purpose and starting sprinting. He skidded around the corner of the last building he'd seen her by and something knocked him off his feet. He impacted hard on the packed dirt and groaned; his luck seemed to be getting worse. When he sat up, she was crouching over him with those fiery eyes boring a hole through him. He jumped a bit in spite of himself, but calmed himself after a few short breaths.

"Lady, did you just clothesline me a minute ago?" He sounded more irritated than he wanted to sound.

"Why were you following me?" She loomed over him with her terrible gaze.

Josh felt more than a little cornered at the moment and was once again clutching at straws to say something. He looked into her shrouded face and said the first thing that came to his mind. "You have very beautiful eyes!" he clapped his hand over his mouth in embarrassment and the girl's eyes widened.

"Wait, what? Did you just say I have nice eyes?" she was unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

"Yes, your eyes are lovely they sparkle like the moonlight on a calm lake!" His faced reddened and he held his mouth shut again. He was bracing for a punch, but to his surprise her eyes were darting back and forth anxiously and when the moonlight caught her face, he saw she was blushing.

"The first thing you say to me that's coherent is that?! What the hell, are you crazy?!" She was trying to keep her voice from rising far enough to attract attention. "There has literally got to be something wrong with you somewhere in your head."

"My name is Joshua Kassmeyer, I'm from Karanese and I think you are the most lovely woman I have ever laid my eyes on in my entire life!" The second part of his statement even shocked him a little bit. That for sure was going to going to earn him at least a smack or two across the face. He braced for it, but no blows rained down upon him.

The girl wasn't crouching over him anymore, in her surprise she had collapsed onto his stomach and was leaning back against his knees. She looked completely wrong footed and she was biting her lip; her gaze was down away from him. His breathing was heavy and he swallowed hard, waiting for her to say something else.

"Annie…"

"Wait, what?" Josh said with effort.

"Annie…my name is Annie. Annie Leonhardt."

Josh half smiled and fell back as a wave of tension was lifted off of him and he laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Her tone was nervously demanding.

"That was the reason I was staring at you yesterday. That's also why I followed you; I just wanted to know your name." His face was flushed and he was laughing like an idiot, but he didn't care. He had just fulfilled his mission and he was relieved.

She fidgeted a little and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Well…you could've started off with that you know."


	3. Chapter 3: A Nice Night

It would have been wrong to call it an awkward silence. In her opinion, awkward wasn't even close to how she felt at the moment. It was way beyond the awkward point; she was completely dumbstruck. Before now, she'd never worried about saying something dumb or being embarrassed around people. In three sentences this guy had ripped her personality a new one and now here she was too shy to even look at him. Maybe if she said something it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. _"Start with something you can't mess up. An apology? Yeah, you can't really screw that up can you?" _Even so, she wasn't talking anything for granted; this had already been a night of firsts.

"Sorry for clotheslining you earlier, looking back that was a little rude of me; especially considering I already hit you once today." Annie twirled some hair around her finger anxiously.

"Well, considering the aftermath, I'd say it was pretty damn worth it." Josh was beaming at her.

They were sitting up against the building where she'd hit him as he rounded the corner earlier. She sat with her knees pulled up near her chest and every time she made eye contact with him she blushed and looked the other way.

Josh smirked. "You're being awfully shy right now, what's up? Where's that rowdy straight to the point girl that punched me this morning without even saying a word."

"She ambushed some weirdo who then for some reason told her that she was the loveliest woman he'd ever seen. That girl from before kind of took off and left me here to fend for myself." She fidgeted again, not sure how to take what Josh had said to her. She was trying to process it all, the things he said gave her weird feelings she wasn't all that used to.

"Sorry to catch you off guard like that, I could barely control my mouth. To be honest I'm almost as surprised as you are about what just happened."

"Off guard would have been my legs knocked out from under me in a sparring match. Off guard would be getting my pocket picked. A little while ago when you started talking was more like getting whacked upside the head."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know! See, that's this issue. Ten minutes ago I could've made sense without worrying about the possibility of sounding stupid."

"Funny, ten minutes ago it was the other way around for me. If that's not ironic I don't know what is."

Annie hugged herself tightly and kicked a rock at her feet. "You're stupid."

"I'm going to take that as a complement for now."

"No, I don't mean like that. Well sure you've done a couple dumb things since yesterday, but I meant you're stupid for picking me. Why did you pick me?"

"I'm not really sure I understand what you mean by pick."

"Josh, come on. Why would you come after me of all people; especially considering what happened at breakfast? Most guys don't keep going after someone who assaults them and a lot of people are already scared of me anyway. I'm not the kind of girl guys just approach all the time. Not that it's always a great thing, but at least nobody tries to screw with me. So again, Why me? Why not go for that tiny little blonde girl you've been hanging around? She seems to like you."

"You mean Krista? We're just friends, she's cute and all around a wonderful person, but when you walked through the door it was like my stopped beating for a second. The way you just ghosted your way across the room like you were the only person in the world was mesmerizing. Then you looked my way and all bets were off. I couldn't speak I could barely think, I just knew I was gone; you had me. Funny thing, Krista was actually the first person to come out and say I had a crush on you. She was teasing me about it at breakfast this morning. That was before you punched me so I'm not sure if her opinion has changed or not. Even if it has, she doesn't seem to stay upset at anyone very long. Besides, I can't be scared of you, not after this. You're just too damn adorable for me to feel like that. I don't care how hard you hit me."

"You're making me feel embarrassed again Josh." She looked back at the ground.

"Sorry, I can't help it if my feelings make you all cute and awkward. I kind of like it though; this was the last reaction I was ever expecting from you. I was actually wondering if you were going to punch me to be honest."

"I didn't hurt you too bad earlier did I? It seemed like you fell pretty hard."

"Nah, I've been worse. It's not like you broke my back or anything. I can barely feel it anymore." Josh lied.

A breeze was starting to pick up and as it blew by, they both shivered, neither of them having thought they'd be outside enough to need their cloaks. Annie was getting cold and it showed. She knew Josh was probably thinking the same thing she was. The act itself wasn't really unpleasant it was just the name that bothered her. It was just such a sappy sounding word and despite how she was feeling, she didn't want to come out and say it.

"Hey, um do you mind if I ask you a favor." She was wriggling around again.

"Yeah anything you need, what's up?"

It's getting cold out here and I was wondering if you'd mind…"

"Going back to the barracks?"

"No, not that I mean uh, can we, you know…"

"Can we what?"

"You know, that thing where two people get all close and hug and stuff?"

"You mean cuddling?"

"Yeah…that thing, the C word."

"Of course we can, that's no problem at all."

Annie scooted a little bit closer. "Don't get any ideas in your head, this doesn't change anything. You're still really weird, and don't go thinking that this makes me your girlfriend or anything; I'm just doing this for the warmth."

"Yeah I know I kind of figured you'd say something like that."

She slid into his lap and curled up to maximize the warmth. She was surprised by how comfortable it was and how warm he felt.

"You look so cute right now." Josh put his arms around her.

"You can shut up, that's what you can do." She tucked in close to his chest.

"Your mouth says shut up, but your eyes say keep talking."

"If you make this any more awkward for me than it already is, I swear to God that I'm going to punch you."

"Alright alright, just relax I'll be quiet."

She spoke softly. "You don't have to be quiet, just lay off the compliments for a bit, I'm already too embarrassed as it is."

"I don't know if I can do that. You look so much like a little angel right now; it's freaking adorable."

"What did I just say about making this more awkward?"

"Don't care, it would be worth every single bruise I get. So go ahead, bring it on." He smiled down at her.

"You're stupid." She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled his arms tight around her. "Still just doing this for the warmth there's nothing romantic about what's going on right now."

"You don't seem to be very good at lying tonight Miss Leonhardt."

"Shut up." She pulled up her hood and flipped him off before settling in again.

This was quickly becoming the best night of Josh's life, or at least one of the most memorable. He couldn't think of a time when he'd been this happy before. Despite her attitude, insults, and tendency towards physical violence Josh couldn't help but like Annie. There was a layer of sweetness buried under the bitter exterior that he had been enjoying his glimpse of. They sat there for a while, just listening to the peace and quiet of the evening. After a while of savoring the silence he looked at her to ask another question but he stopped himself. She had fallen asleep. Josh smiled. _"She is seriously the cutest girl I've ever met. Once you get past the layer of iron she puts up, she's almost too adorable for her own good."_ This moment at once seemed perfect to him and he wanted to stay here until the sun came up.

"Josh, where are you? Josh, are you out here?" He heard a voice calling out to him from not too far away. He cursed under his breath having forgotten entirely about how late it was getting. The moon was high in the sky and they'd be in trouble if the Commandant caught them out of the barracks at this hour. He scooped up Annie in his arms, wincing a little as pain shot up his back. The fall earlier had done a number on him. That was probably going to present an issue during training, but right now he didn't care. He just wanted to get her back to the bunkhouse. She felt heavier than he anticipated. Maybe she was dead weighting because she was asleep. She was a bit shorter than him which made her weight more focused in this case. He grunted under his breath and slung her up into his arms gingerly, careful not to wake her up. Then he started walking towards the voice.

"Josh, come on we need to go to bed. ODM training starts tomorrow and we're going to fail the preliminary exam if we don't get some sleep." Krista was carrying a lantern, hoping she found him before Shadis did. She hoped he hadn't gone and hurt himself or anything. She called out again as she rounded the corner of the next building. "Josh, seriously are you out here I'm starting to worry." A silhouette was approaching her and she started before realizing it was Josh. "There you are. Where have you been, I've been looking all over for you?"

"Shhhhhhhhh." Josh tried to hush her.

"What, why? Do you think Shadis heard me?"

Josh motioned his eyes downward. Krista lowered the lantern and her eyes widened.

"Is that…?"

"Yeahhhhh, it is. I found out her name is Annie. Try not to talk so loud, I don't want to wake her up." Josh grinned sheepishly.

"She doesn't look as scary when she's asleep." Krista held the light by her face and Annie mumbled before tucking her face into Josh's shoulder.

"I actually don't feel like she's scary at all anymore, to be honest. Believe it or not, she's actually pretty shy." He whispered.

"So um, what happened with you two? How did we go from her punching you in the face to her sleeping in your arms?"

"I'll explain later, let's just get back to the bunkhouse and go to bed. Like you said before, we have ODM aptitude tests in the morning." They started walking. "Oh, and Krista?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anybody about this okay? I don't want to embarrass her or anything."

"My lips are sealed, cross my heart." She smiled. _"Those two look so cute together."_

They tiptoed into the billet and down to the last rack where Annie had slept the night before. Krista went and climbed up into her bed as Josh laid Annie on hers. Even though she was still sleeping she fussed a little when he pulled his arms away. She just kept getting more precious every moment he was around her. He knew it would take time, but he was going to be hers someday. Before heading back across the room, he brushed his fingers through her hair. "Goodnight Annie." He started walking away, stifling a yawn.

Annie rolled on her side and pulled her blanket up. "Goodnight Kassy." It sounded like she mumbled it in her sleep.

Josh paused and looked back at her. _"Why do girls keep calling me that?"_ He rolled his eyes and stumbled over to his bunk. He peeked up top and whispered. "Hey Krista, why did you call me Kassy this morning?" Unfortunately, Krista was already asleep. It's not that he didn't understand the origin; he just was wondering why people were calling him that all of a sudden. Plus they never said it more than once during a conversation. He sighed and tried to put it from his mind. He'd figure it out later, no use in messing up what had turned into a pretty nice evening by over thinking something that dumb; even if it was annoying. When he climbed into bed, his thoughts drifted back to Annie and the last couple of hours. That night, Josh Kassmeyer slept soundly for the first time in days.


	4. Chapter 4: Sunset

The next morning started much the same as the last. The officer rang the metal plate like a gong to wake everyone up. Christa was already dressed by the time Josh put on his pants; and oddly enough, Connie even rolled off of his bunk again. Jansen was standing over by the mirror and smoothing out his uniform saying something about being born ready for the ODM harness. As josh was cinching up his straps, Aline came over and plopped down on her bed looking thoroughly disappointed.

"What did you do now Aline?" Josh pulled on his jacket.

"Jean is such an asshole; he doesn't want to talk to me anymore."

"I told you that it wouldn't take long for guys to come to their senses about you."

"No, Jean just found someone he thinks is a little bit hotter." Albrecht walked over sniggering.

"It's that bitch with the scarf. Jean's all like ooooohhhhhh she's oriental, she's so exotic, well I'm pretty too and I don't have freaky abs like she does." Aline scowled. "She won't even give Jean the time of day, she's so stuck up."

"Right, and you're a paragon of decency aren't you?" Josh couldn't help but look smug.

"Perhaps he likes a little more mystery to his women instead of having one that pops open her shirt for guys at every opportunity?" Jansen had passed by and quipped off an unusually well timed jibe.

"Alb, did he just call Aline a slut?"

"Yeah, sounds like it to me. I don't think he fancied being called simple yesterday."

"Jansen you rotten little bastard come back here and say that to my face." She chased him out the door and around the yard all the while screaming profanities left and right.

During breakfast, Josh sat off in the corner by himself, glad to have some alone time to think a little. The events of the previous night were still running through his mind in earnest. With their first real encounter over and done with, he barely knew anything other than her name and that she was surprisingly shy when confronted with his attraction to her. He didn't know what she liked or didn't. He had no clue where she was from or when her birthday was. Even before he knew what her name was, he'd gone all starry eyed over her like a kid who finds themselves locked in a candy store for a night. He needed to try and work with those emotions if he wanted to get anywhere with Annie. He had hoped to talk to her before the morning meal, but she'd already left her bunk when he got there. He wondered where she was.

A crash caught his attention and he saw that Jansen was being chased by Aline still. Even though he wasn't technically wrong with his comment earlier, it wasn't a particularly intelligent thing for him to say to any girl, especially Aline. Not to mention the fact that they'd already be worn out before training started and they hadn't bothered to eat anything in the meantime. At one point during the pursuit Jansen almost got stabbed with a fork, which he only escaped by sliding under a crowded table. A high pitched squeal from a red haired get preceded his reappearance. That was probably a good indication that he'd groped her; that, accompanied by a broad smile, was plenty of evidence. Jansen had taken a little bit too long with that though. Aline was waiting for him as he jumped up, and so was the mess tin she proceeded to smack into his jaw. The creepy thing was that it barely seemed to faze him. The look in his eyes was more terrifying than Sasha when she was hungry. Startled by his manic rage, Aline unwittingly gave him an opportunity to escape her wrath. He was out the door and gone before anyone even blinked. Josh drank the last of his water before getting up to leave. With everybody so wired, the preliminary exam was going to be interesting to say the very least.

The lines toward the training harnesses were taking all morning. Cadets trying their best to stay level and upright while they were suspended off of the ground. Some of them were clearly having an easier time of it than others. There were a few of the cadets flailing about like beached fish and others were just hanging there like it was the most natural thing they'd ever done. Sasha, potato girl of all people, was practically sitting there like she was on a porch swing. Mikasa was just hanging there, floating off the ground like some sort of implacable ghost. The commandant had mentioned there would be those with natural talent; but Josh was struggling to figure out if he had any of his own. He still would be waiting a while to find out.

Down the line Albrecht Johannes was proving himself to be rather skilled in the harness. He adjusted his position no less than five times and never lost balance for even a second. A cluster of the other trainees were gathered in front of him, completely slack-jawed. Even Shadis seemed impressed by the feat, going so far as to say Albrecht was unexpectedly gifted. Not to be outdone easily, Jansen was standing straight up and giving the salute. The patriotic notion was somewhat blemished by the black eye he was sporting. Aline had eventually caught up to him. He hardly seemed to care though; he was managing to hold his own in the saddle and today was definitely a day to show off. He danced around in circles, punching the air. By the look on his face, you'd swear he'd just discovered a chest full of gold.  
>"Sweet mother of god, this is awesome! This is going to be even more badass when we start using the gear!" His exuberance was skyrocketing, step one on the road to the scout regiment was done.<p>

It was around noon when Josh had reached the front of the line. So far, almost every person in the column had managed to stay upright at least. Eren was one of the few exceptions. Flipping upside down or smacking his head into the dirt every time he tried it. Maybe it was Karma for all of his bragging and grandstanding? They all had to give him credit though, he tried seven times before Shadis had him taken down. He was looking a bit worse for the wear and he had a couple of gashes on his face and hands.

"I really hope that isn't how I end up." Josh gritted his teeth together nervously. "That must hurt like a bitch, not to mention looking like an ass in front of everybody." He was embarrassed to note that everybody seemed to be translating into Annie in his mind half the time. How was she doing with this? Probably great considering her physical state, even though Josh wasn't sure fitness necessarily played a part in holding your balance.

"Kassmeyer!"

"What, huh?"

Shadis smacked him upside the head. "Quit standing there like a halfwit and get up there; it's show time."

"Yes sir!" He ran up. _"I've got to stop zoning out like that, if I did that during and exercise or, god forbid in combat, people would probably die; myself included."_ The assistant hooked him up and tightened all of the clasps on his rig. The air in Josh's lungs felt heavy to him. He was feeling stressed and it was making his back injury flare up in random pain spikes. He hadn't bothered to mention it to anyone, not wanting to try and explain it. He knew where the line of inquiry would extend to if he tried. The restraints tightened slightly. Everyone had their eyes on him, it was uncomfortable. This was it, the moment of truth.

"Hoist him up trooper!" Shadis stood to the side of the crowd, watching intently.

Josh felt his feet start leaving the ground; he tensed up. A pain flared in his lower back and he clutched at it reflexively, which immediately cost him his balance. The world did a head stand and before he knew what happened, he was in the dirt.

"Kassmeyer, what's wrong with you back?!" Shadis was shouting down at him.

"Nothing sir, must have strained a muscle when I was lifting something is all! I can do it, just set me up again."

His second try fared much the same. Barely off the ground and down he went, head impacting on the ground. The back of his skull was throbbing. It felt like there was a fire engulfing his entire brain. What if he wasn't able to do it? What if this was the end of the line already? That didn't seem possible; it had only been two days since they got here. Everyone would be moving on and he'd be going home in shame if he failed again. He started to panic, his anxieties surfacing in full force. His mouth felt dry and his pulse was pounding. He fought hard to get his thoughts in check. He wouldn't be able to focus if he didn't. Josh wasn't going to go out like this. He had to give it one last go, if all of his friends were making it, he wasn't going to be left alone to tend the fields. He steadied himself and took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He did his best to concentrate the expanse of his mind. _"Keep focused on one thing, don't over complicate things. Just think of Annie. Yeah! Just focus on Annie and you got this! Remember holding her last night? You'll never get to do that again if you can't get it together."_ The thought was liberating. Just thinking about her made him feel like he was walking on air. He just wished he could talk to her. Annie hadn't been around much that day and she seemed to run off every time he headed her way. He hoped he hadn't upset her. Something started nagging around in the back of his mind. It sounded like someone talking, rather loudly. The voice slowly resolved itself until he could tell who it was. On the edges of his conscious he could hear Shadis yelling at him.

"Cadet Kassmeyer, do you have shit in your ears; you answer when your commander is speaking to you!"

"Yes sir, I'm ready, wind me up! I'll get it right this time!"

"Son, I'm afraid I can't do that. That's as high as the winch can take you."

"As high as it can take me? Sir I don't understand I'm…already off of the ground?" Josh looked down, puzzled.

"Yes, you've been up there for a couple minutes now. We need to get the next cadet into the harness."

"So, I did it? Or I am doing it?"

"If that wasn't already abundantly clear, yes, you are doing it."

"Holy shit, this is happening I can't believe it. Jansen was right, this feels pretty badass!"

"Get him down already trooper. I don't know what you did Kassmeyer, but whatever it was keep it up; we're not even into the woods yet." Shadis continued his rounds. He was pleased with results of the preliminary exam thus far. There would be plenty of cadets to continue on to the real thing in a few days. He smiled to himself knowingly; now came the time where he could start making them soldiers.

One week later…

The two of them hadn't really spoken since that night. She knew he wanted to talk, but she'd been doing her best to avoid him, despite the fact she had questions of her own. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't intended to make her feel weird; it just kind of turned out that way. Now a bunch of conflicting emotions were flying around inside her head, leaving her stuck in the middle while they fought it out. She would get to the bottom of it, but until then, seeing him would just get her all mixed up again. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the only one she could come up with so far.

Annie glided through the trees, swinging slightly as she transferred her hooks to the next point of her path. They had been training on the gear for three days now and each member of the class was expected to make several trips around the forest and back during a given day. Unlike most of the cadets, Annie deigned to go by herself most of the time. It allowed her to think distraction free, something she needed rather badly at the moment. Utilizing the ODM had proved quite useful in finding places to have that alone time. Eight days into a three year program and she could barely recognize herself. All of this because one guy had to go and be all stupid and mess up her head. She hoped nobody else knew what had happened; one person seeing her vulnerable was bad enough. She pulled the trigger on her next swing and launched herself up into the canopy of the trees, seeking a branch to recline on. She didn't just want a place to sit though. It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to dip towards the mountains; she wanted to watch it. There was an open branch just above the crest of the taller trees, it was perfect.

This was one of the few activities that she legitimately enjoyed. Sunset was Annie's favorite time of day and it was usually the most calm of the light hours. She stared out towards the golden horizon as the sky turned a fiery red and the clouds a deep shade of violet. The mountains cast a brilliant shadow across the valley just as a light mist was coming over the pines. Not even the most brilliant of artists could capture a moment such as this in a painting. It was a fleeting sight and that's what made it special. She wished she could stay up here forever, basking in the amber glow of the setting sun.

About one hundred and twenty feet below, the four friends from Karanese were on their way back to camp.

"Come on guys, you've really got to see this. It is breath taking."

"Calm down Jansen, we should be getting back to the base before the sun sets, can't this wait until tomorrow?" Albrecht swung up beside him.

"The sunset is exactly what we're going to see so hurry up, I don't want to miss it." He boosted up into the branches.

"He's been talking about this since we started on the gear; I hope this is worth the extra gas we're using." Aline shot right past Albrecht. Josh was close behind her.

"I'm sure we'll get something out of it, Jansen is hyper as all hell, but he rarely disappoints when he wants to share something he's found." Josh called out to her.

"Hey guys, right up here quick!" Jansen had found his mark.

The trio latched onto the trunk of a particularly large tree as they broke free of the ceiling of branches and needles. It was instantly obvious that the trip had been worth it.

"Damn, what a view." Albrecht was in awe.

"It's gorgeous, all the colors and shadows. This has got to be a one of a kind view." Aline was similarly starry eyed over the picturesque scene.

Josh reached into his pocket and pulled out the journal his dad had given him. He'd been keeping track of everything that happened in the last few days and aside from a paragraph about Annie, there had been nothing worthy of putting to prose until now. His position wasn't the most ideal, but he had to jot a few things down while there was still light. This had to be the perfect sunset. He had to make sure to find a place for it when he wrote his first novel. _"The radiant light of the fading day cast its beams toward the crimson sky overhead. The mountains stretched their shadows across all that lay before them and a mist settled amongst the trees. In the background crickets could be heard chirping quietly; it was peaceful."_ Josh said it in his head as he put it to the paper. He smiled as he finished the sentence, it was perfect.

"Thanks for bringing us up here man, good job finding this." Albrecht sighed deeply.

"Anytime, someone has to find these kinds of things. Wouldn't be fair if I kept it all to myself now would it? Let's get going, we want to get to the road before dark."

Three of them leapt down.

"Josh, aren't you coming?" Aline paused.

"I'll catch up; I want to savor this a little more."

"Alright mister poetic, just don't take too long or we're heading back without you."

With that, Josh was alone. He parked himself on one of the branches and gazed out across the vast expanse of land. He wanted to stay up there forever, basking in the amber glow of the setting sun. His eyes followed a flock of birds heading down into the trees to nest; just then, his eye caught something else in the distance. There was a person sitting on a branch about two hundred meters away from him. He squinted hard, trying to make out who it was. His heart leapt when the realization crept up into the front of his mind. _"Is that Annie? Oh my lord, that's her. Get a move on cowboy, go over there and say something. No more wasted opportunities. You're going to ask her out."_

Josh launched himself across, hopping tree top to tree top, using as much of his fuel reserves as he dared. His determination to reach her was absolute. Anyone who got a look at him would probably think he was mad. At the speed he was going it was amazing he wasn't hitting anything. He was on the last fifty meters; if he didn't slow down he'd have to swing back, wasting precious gas he didn't have already. He clutched the release, braking hard. He swore, he was still coming in too hot. "Annie, heads up, you might wanna duck or something!"

Annie heard a shout coming from her right. Someone was flying toward her, a little too fast for her to not be concerned. A sense of foreboding barely had the chance to creep into her mind. It was him. How had he found her? Nobody knew about her spot, or at least she didn't think so. It was just like him, showing up at the worst possible moment. He'd get an ass kicking later for ruining the sunset; but that was a secondary concern for the moment. In the meantime, she had to get out of here while she still had the chance. She stood and shot her cables down into the forest, but before she could start her descent, he collided with her. It wasn't as hard as she was expecting it to be, he had braced by the look of things, but it still hurt like hell. The two of them tumbled down amidst the branches, missing most of them by some miracle or other. The only obstacle that they couldn't miss was the ground. The force of the impact would splatter them across the dirt like pancakes. Annie barely had time to reflect on the situation. _"I can't believe this is how I'm going to die. I've barely even started this whole ordeal, and I'm dying in a freak accident. The last thing I see is going to be dumbass here; fate is a little too cruel sometimes."_

She braced for the imminent death. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five…wait a minute. Something was up, they should've hit after three. She opened her eyes. The sky wasn't receding anymore, and the ground too was stationary. There was a slight sway to it though. She glanced around, Josh was about five feet from her; both of them were tangled up in the ODM cables and hanging about thirty feet above the ground. Josh looked at her and laughed nervously.

"Heh, um hi Annie."

She looked at him in shock. "Hi? HI? That's all you have to say after what just happened?!"

"I'm sure I'll think of something else in a minute."

"What the hell Josh?! You came flying out of nowhere and hit me like a runaway cart! Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Well I didn't mean to crash into you obviously!"

"We're lucky we're not puddles of guts down there right now! What the heck was going through your mind?!" She yelled.

"I wanted to see you…" Josh looked down.

Annie was in disbelief. "You're serious? That's why we're both tangled up in our gear hanging thirty feet off of the ground right now?"

"Yeahhhhhhhh…sorry, my bad…again."

"I'm going to kick your ass, or whichever part of you my foot can reach right now." She struggled, but her foot was caught up; she'd have to save the ass kicking for later. That'd just be more effort she could think about putting into it. They hung there for a few moments in awkward silence. By the looks of things, the sun had just dipped below the mountains. It wouldn't be long before twilight was upon them.

"Sorry I got us into this mess." Josh looked at her embarrassed.

Annie sighed. "Well, we're alive at least. Could've easily turned out the other way."

"True enough, small mercies I guess huh?"

"Yeah, mercies right. So how do we get down from here; you got any bright ideas hotshot?"

"None that would be preferable, and not many with even a margin of success."

"Well that's just great, so we're stuck up here until someone realizes that we're missing?" She groaned.

"It could be worse."

"Yeah, and how is that?"

"We could have been by ourselves instead of together?" He ventured, figuring it to be a long shot at best.

"If I was alone, I guarantee this wouldn't have happened." She folded her arms and scowled.

"Well, as long as we're hanging around…do you think we can talk?"

"If you promise to never make a joke like that again, I'll think about it."

Josh righted himself so he could at least be some semblance of comfortable in his current state. His thoughts were crowded with insults. How could he have been so stupid? Every time he got around her, he made an ass of himself. This had to be the icing on the colossal failure cake. There goes the whole asking her out plan. He'd be lucky if she didn't kill him before the night was over. If that was the case he had to at least know what had been going on since they last met.

"So, what happened with you this past week? It's like you've been ignoring me since that night by the barracks."

"I've just been super busy, lots of stuff to do." She tried her best to say it convincingly. She tripped over the words a lot more than she wanted to; it was already getting awkward.

"You're still a shitty liar you know? Can you just tell me what I did wrong; last week I mean, not today."

"It's not that you did or didn't do something Josh." She sighed heavily. "I just don't know how to feel about everything that happened. I don't even know how I ended up in my bed that night to be honest; that's how shaken up my brain is."

"Uhhhhhhh, well funny story about that actually. You kind of fell asleep when we were outside 'cuddling'."

"Yeah…and what about it?"

"I ended up having to carry you back to the bunkhouse; I didn't want to wake you up. You just looked so adorable." He tried to say it in a manner that would make it seem a bit less awkward for her.

She flushed slightly. _"He did what? Oh my god, please tell me nobody saw that. I don't think I could handle the embarrassment! That will be the end of me; respect goes right out the window."_ She managed to calm her inner thoughts enough to talk. "So, um thanks for getting me back to my bed. Nobody uh, saw you right?"

"Welllllllllllll…not exactly."

Her face got red again and her eyes widened. "How many people saw you carry me?"

"Just Christa. She actually found me when I was taking you back. She said you don't look as scary when you're asleep."

"What did you tell her about what happened? _Please say nothing, please say nothing!_"

"I kinda maybe sort of told her…everything." He laughed nervously again.

"Oh great, now she's probably gone and told everybody. I'm so screwed. There's no way I can face any of those people now! Do you have any idea how bad this is?!"

"She didn't tell anyone, relax. Your hard ass reputation is still perfectly intact."

"You trust her that much huh?"

"She's probably the nicest person in the whole camp. I've heard people call her angel and goddess more than once already. I asked her not to mention it to anyone, so I trust her to have done just that. Have a little more faith in people once and a while."

"I don't really like people in case you hadn't noticed. Faith has no part of it; people always will pick themselves over you if it comes down to it that's just a fact. Either that or they land you in some mess you can't get out of. Speaking of which, I still want to get down from here in case you hadn't noticed."

"Has anyone ever told you that you look really cute when you're irritated?"

"You can shut up right now, you hear me? I swear it's like you only listen to half of what I say and then go into stupid mode."

"So what, not like you can do anything about it from way over there." Josh injected the sarcasm heavily. He was getting bolder with his statements. It was like being close to her made him a different man, and maybe it did. Even when she was mad he couldn't help but smile at her. He probably looked a little bit crazy; had Christa been right, was he falling in love with Annie? It felt like he was. Can you even feel that way about someone you barely even know? He realized he'd been zoning out again. He was now surprised to note that she'd managed to get four feet closer to him in the moment or two he'd been out of mind. She was definitely close enough to punch him now. He cables were getting taut though, and she was forcing herself under the last one blocking her reach.

"Annie, I don't think you should be doing that. That cable doesn't look like it's going to hold there."

"You've got a punch or two coming and you're not getting out of them like last time!" It could've been the strain from pulling herself through the tangle of wires, but it looked like she was blushing. On the inside she was feeling awkward again. She had to punch him at least once or twice; just enough to get the point across. That usually helped calm her down just a bit. She drew back before hearing a whipping sound behind her. The cable had lost its grip on a branch nearby and she was pulled right into him with a thud. She swore.

"I told you that it wasn't going to hold didn't I?" Josh looked down at her face. She was still irritated, and still adorable. He smiled and laughed to himself.

"This is all your fault, so shut it mister." She looked up at him and was kind of surprised. He didn't even look remotely upset about what just happened. He had that same starry look in his eye that he had a week ago when she had attacked him. That idiotically fat smile was plastered across his face and it seemed like he was laughing. It was weird, because in spite of everything she was saying and doing; it looked like he was having the time of his life. "What's your deal, you think this is funny?" She was indignant.

"To be honest yeah it kind of is. If anyone asks where I was this whole time and I can say: Oh sorry, I just got caught up with someone for a little bit and couldn't untangle myself from the conversation."

She was about to fire back another insult, but stopped herself. Annie paused for a moment and snickered, stifling a laugh. As dumb as the joke was, it was actually kind of funny.

"Oh my god you're laughing. I can't believe that made you laugh!"

"That was the dumbest joke I've ever heard, I don't know why I'm laughing." She smiled, struggling to hold back her amusement.

He broke into a wide grin. "This is the first time I've ever seen you smile, or laugh, or make a happy expression of any kind. You should do it more, your face just lights up and you get even more beautiful. I seriously thought that was impossible." Josh felt like he was having the time of his life at the moment. They hung there for a few moments laughing with each other, their current predicament almost completely forgotten. Once the two of them managed to calm down for long enough, Annie spoke.

"Can I ask you something and be honest with me okay?" She looked up at him.

"Yes you can ask me anything."

"All of that stuff you've said to me…you've meant every word of it?" She locked her eyes onto his when she said it. She was staring at him intently with those big blue crystalline eyes of hers. It felt like she could see right into his soul, which normally would have been terrifying. There was something different in her eyes this time though. There was a shining in them, almost a burning; that was almost always there, but behind that he could see a sense of pleading. It was as if she'd been waiting her entire life for someone to say those things to her. Waiting for someone to "fall in love" with her as Christa had told him once. He wasn't sure she was wrong about that anymore. Maybe this IS love at first sight. He'd barely thought about anything but her since he first got here and whenever she was in the room, he couldn't look at anyone else. If Christa had been right, he doubted that he'd ever hear the end of it. God forbid if Aline or any of the rest of the class ever found out. Not that he truly cared if they did. At this very moment with her pressed up to him and with that look in her eyes, he knew he had meant every single word of what he had said.

"Josh, are you okay? Your heart is beating really fast right now; is there anything wrong?" Her hand could feel it pounding through his chest and his breathing was heavy. His eyes were locked on hers intently, he didn't even blink.

Josh found himself leaning in towards her. Every single thought and emotion inside him building to a crescendo, he had to do something. _"I can't hold back anymore, and I can't speak when she looks at me so deeply like that. If she kills me for this, at least I'll die happy." _He grabbed her face gently and pulled it towards his. The fire in his eyes was almost startling.

"Josh, what are you doing? Why are you looking at me like t…" The rest was lost to her as their lips touched. He kissed her softly and a shiver went up her spine. Her heart was pounding even harder than his. _"He's kissing me? Is he insane; does he even know what he's doing?"_ He pressed against her lips a bit more intently. He was practically shaking. She could feel him trembling all over. He wasn't the only one. _"I didn't think guys shook so much when they kissed a girl. Unless, could he really be freaking out so much over me? This is so weird, what's wrong with me? I'm not supposed to be the touchy feely romance type of girl. So why do I feel so good right now; am I really enjoying this?" _Annie's mind rolled over a hundred different questions in that one moment. She found herself unable to move. It was like she was in some sort of weird trance. Josh pulled his lips away from hers, still shaking. The look on her face was unreadable. It was something akin to shock, but not quite. Shocked and confused maybe; or possibly shocked and upset? Regardless, she wasn't saying anything.

"Listen, I'm sorry I don't know what came over me just now. That was kind of rude of me to just plant one on you like that." Josh sighed to himself, a little embarrassed and disheartened about the whole affair. "We can just focus on getting ourselves out of here if you wa…" This time Josh was caught off guard.

She pushed her lips against his, almost more passionately than he had done. His heart seemed like it was going to stop, right then and there. Every single second of his life felt like it had been leading up to this moment. A bolt of lightning shot down his spine; he felt numb. Funny enough, she'd made him freeze up again. She'd just called his bluff.

"You're stupid you know that?" Annie looked thoroughly amused.

"Yeah, so I've heard. I feel stupid to be honest. If I'd have known you were that good at kissing I'd have done this way sooner."

"Jackass, like you could have."

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of when I'm motivated enough to get it done."

His tone was suggestive. A mischievous grin was beginning to manifest on his face. His hands were on her hips; his breathing was still heavy but more controlled. She felt her features starting to shift as well. The ghost of a smile was barely evident and her eyes glowed with intensity as the last ray of light dipped below the horizon. Neither of them looked liked they would be backing down from this one.

"It's your move fraulein." Josh smirked.

"I was just about to say the same thing to you…fraulein."

Then, without even a second thought, they got right back into it. It was almost animalistic, or primal, or any number of ways you can think of describing super intense lip locking. Each kiss was stoking a fire deep inside them. Their focus was singular, their thoughts centered only on each other. This really was living in the moment, taking it all one day at a time; caution and regret be damned.

"You know something Josh? I'm not really worried about us being rescued anytime soon."

"Me either, they can take their sweet time as far as I'm concerned."

For all he cared, the sun could never rise again and he'd think nothing of it. He wouldn't have noticed if the forest was on fire around them. At this point, nothing could burn hotter than the intimacy of this moment. That moment in your life that you pray will last through the end of eternity and beyond. Josh mused to himself inwardly. _"This is definitely going in my first book."_


	5. Chapter 5: Rescue

It's truly amazing how one night can change your entire life. One experience can change your future. One person can turn your world on its head. This whole thing had hit him harder than being shot point blank with a cannon; minus all the broken bones and death. It had been a bit of an awkward affair when their "rescue" had shown up later that evening. They had been kissing for what felt like hours when a group of searchers arrived. It wasn't easy to distinguish the individual members in the dark, even though they had lanterns. Hearing their voices he managed to put together a good idea of who was there: Aline, Albrecht, Jansen, Christa, Sasha, and Connie, by the sound of things. The cohort wasn't far away and here they were up in the air stuck together like tar on a city road. Even under ideal circumstances, this would take a decent amount of explaining.

"I really hope we can get down from here before they see us like this." Annie sounded worried.

"I'm sure we'll get out of this with your reputation intact. If worse comes to worse you can always buy silence by threatening to kick an ass or two." Josh whispered.

"I'll go way past threats and you know it."

"Settle down a little, that isn't going to be necessary."

"Then let's hurry up and do this, as comfortable and warm as you are, I'd rather not end up sleeping outside tonight. On top of that, I think the commandant would kill you if we weren't at formation tomorrow."

"Don't you mean kill us?"

"Shadis can try, but he couldn't even manage to touch me."

"He was an officer in the Scout Regiment. He's probably capable of a lot more than you or I could ever be."

"You have no idea what I can be capable of doing when the need arises."

"Well then, I hope you can come up with a plan. I'd prefer to live long enough for a second date."

"If this is your idea of a date, I'd hate to see you make something up off the top of your head. Anyway, worry about that later; here's what we're going to do…"

Below them, calls were being thrown around in concern.

"Josh, where are you? Everybody back at camp is getting worried." Christa's usual inflection of genuine care was evident in her voice as always.

"He probably just ran out of gas and had to walk back; we didn't exactly leave him a horse." Aline seemed bored and uninterested.

Sasha grabbed her by her collar and shook her. "Shadis said our group can't eat until everyone is accounted for. He would have been back by now anyway. So damn it we are going to scour every inch of the place until we find him or something we can eat!" Aline wasn't the only person getting freaked out by Sasha.

"Calm down, you look like you're going to kill someone!" Connie was cringing a little bit.

"All the more reason we need to get back as soon as possible. I'd rather my last moments be on the battlefield than at the hands of a hungry lunatic." Jansen held himself proudly and tried his best to reflect nobility.

"Everybody at ease, the great general has got the situation well in hand." Albrecht said sarcastically.

"You can bite me Al." The two of them started bickering at one another.

"Can't you guys stop and focus for five minutes? If you keep fighting and yelling we won't be able to hear him." Christa got between them. "Come on, take this seriously. What if there was an accident; he could be hurt."

The party continued along, their lanterns aloft; the light radiating in a small pool around them. They were oblivious of the hushed exchange going on above them.

Josh and Annie we busy trying to untangle themselves without falling to their deaths. The ropes and cables were knotting up several times during each attempt. At least their height and the yelling below were covering up any noise they made. Despite their desire for stealth, time was of the essence. Soon the party would slip away and they wouldn't find the way back to the camp in the pitch darkness of the woods.

"I've got a good feeling about this one, sixteenth time's the charm." Annie tugged at the cables wrapping around her leg with effort. It was slow in coming, but she was pulling her leg free of it. A creaking sound caught Josh's attention.

"Um, what's that noise? It sounds like something is straining; maybe you shouldn't be moving that part just yet?"

"We're finally making some progress; this isn't the time to be backing out. Remember, this whole thing is happening because of you anyway?"

Not far away, one of the grappling hooks had loosened and was caught on a tree branch. The pull of the cord was causing the branch to start to give. Another hook was being slowly pulled from the trunk in had lodged in.

"Annie, I really don't think you should pull on that cord…"

"Almost there…got it." She pulled herself free of the loop and started on the next one. "See, nothing to worry about we're just fine…"

The creaking sound turned into a groaning and there was a sharp crack, like a whip. A hook whizzed past Josh's right ear and another barely missed his thigh.

"Damn it." Josh sighed and the two of them started falling. That whole ground pancake thing was looking more and more likely. They'd impact the dirt and then boom meat painting. Hopefully they wouldn't land on anyone. Josh was ashamed to find himself wondering whether Sasha was going to eat them. No telling what she was truly capable of when she was hungry. Then, just as the ground was about to shatter his spine, he stopped, again. God must really like him, because one of his hooks was still attached up there somewhere. He almost breathed a sigh of relief, and then Annie and the full weight of her ODM gear landed on his stomach.

Josh coughed and spluttered; he felt like hacking up a lung, but oddly hadn't broken anything. Despite that stroke of good fortune, his back was probably going to be killing him in the morning. There was a dull pain starting to creep into his body. He took a moment to catch his breath before asking Annie if she was alright. He tilted his head up and saw she was astride him like the night of their first close encounter. Just like that he completely forgot any pain he was feeling. If something like this happened every time he ended up getting hurt by her, it would be worth it a thousand times over. A smile ghosted its' way onto his face. There was a hint of mischief back in his voice; he felt a one liner coming on.

"Geez, can't you wait until we're somewhere private?"

"Even if that was what was going on here, are you telling me that you'd make me wait?" Her tongue was sharper than a finely tuned dagger.

"Well, to be honest, no I wouldn't." He smirked and she leaned over to kiss him again. His lip quivered as he rose to meet her.

"Ahem…" The two of them froze, stopping halfway into it. They'd completely forgotten about the rescue party.

"Well now, isn't this a nice surprise. A bit of a compromising position we find you in isn't it?" Aline was standing over them, lantern in hand; the rest of the group arrayed behind her.

Annie and Josh looked back at each other, their faces red with embarrassment and quickly looked away again. Above them Albrecht, Jansen, and Connie were laughing their asses off. The three of them were bursting at the seams. Christa was giggling a bit to herself as well.

"I can't believe this, everybody back at the camp worried half to death about you and we find you here getting it on with angry eyes." Aline sarcastically feigned concern and shock, barely concealed an evil grin.

The two of them answered at the exact same time. "Aline, why don't you shut the hell up?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "Well whatever you're doing, finish it up and let's go. I want to get back to the base before Sasha decides to eat one of us." Sasha's eyes were blazing red. Deep down, everyone was really hoping she was above things like cannibalism. She'd already jumped back on her horse.

"Let's go, come on. I am not going hungry tonight. I feel like I could eat this horse and two sacks of potatoes right now!" Her voice was shrill and the horse was looking even more anxious to leave.

Most of them headed back to their mounts as Annie pulled Josh up. Albrecht, Connie, and Jansen were still laughing and Aline was making kissy faces at them. It wasn't going to be easy to hold Annie back from beating her up if she kept egging her on like she was. As usual it was Christa who was actually trying to move things along and keep the peace. She rode over to them pulling an extra horse behind her.

"We weren't expecting to find you with anyone Kassy, so we only have one extra ride. I hope you two won't mind sharing for the trip back."

Annie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm driving." She got up into the saddle and Christa smiled at Josh. It was that knowing smile that she had whenever she'd been proven right. He rolled his eyes and mouthed "We'll talk about this later" before climbing up behind Annie.

"For the record, don't think you can try anything just because my hands are preoccupied with steering." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "There are too many people here and I don't need to get embarrassed anymore tonight; but, thanks for everything anyway. Despite all that happened, I had a nice time. Just do me a favor and don't crash into me next time you feel like talking."

"You got it, and thanks for not punching me or anything this time around."

"We're not back yet, there's still time for you to mess up again." She smirked and spurred the horse forward.

"Don't go running off again you two!" Jansen yelled to them as he saddled up.

"You're just jealous because you couldn't get your hands on a woman." Josh laughed as the cohort began the return ride.

The night air was crisp and calm. Their horses galloped down the well beaten dirt road that stretched across the valley. The eight of them were bathed in the light of the half moon and the golden glow of swinging lanterns. The speed at which they traveled wasn't making this an exceptionally comfortable ride for Josh; saddles weren't made for two people. Trying to match the determined speed of Sasha and Annie was proving to be difficult for everyone else. Both were heading to the same destination, but had different reasons for rushing to get there. Sasha was obviously motivated by food, whereas Annie was dead set on having as little time to be exposed as possible.

It had caused Josh to wonder what her reasons for trying to appear cold and apathetic were. It wasn't like she had anything to prove to anyone. Not that she'd really try even if she did. She wasn't out to impress or fight someone in particular, no more than usual anyhow when it came to fighting. Maybe it had something to do with those guys she'd shown up with? He had heard their names a couple of times. Bertolt Hoover and Reiner Braun were their names. The two of them were enormous, taller than anyone else in the class. Bertolt seemed mild mannered enough and he'd seen both him and Reiner trying to help Eren with passing the 3D gear balance test. Nice guys, both willing to lend a hand to help their comrades. So what had brought them here with Annie or her with them? She'd sat with them in the mess hall on a few occasions, so they obviously knew each other before coming here somehow. It wasn't really his business, so it would likely be better just to let it go for the time being.

When the group made it back to camp, they all rushed to the dining hall, just in time to get some food. The place was pretty much empty, save for a scattered handful of other recruits. The group filled their mess tins and went off to their separate seats. Al, Connie, and Jansen sat together, continuing some discussion about the future they'd been at for the better part of a week. Aline tried to make conversation with Sasha, finding no suitable men around to fawn over her. Josh sat with Christa and Annie sat alone in the corner, right back to that façade of apathy she loved so much.

"So, you and her really seem to have hit it off this time huh?" Christa looked at Josh, eager for details about the encounter.

"Interesting choice of words, but yeah you could say that." Josh was staring across the room at Annie absentmindedly.

"Sooooooo, what exactly happened? I'm glad you were enjoying yourself, but I got worried when you didn't come back after sunset."

"I was up in the canopy watching the sun go down, she was too I guess. I saw her on a tree a couple hundred yards away and when I went over to her, well I kind of crashed into her and we got tangled up in each other's cables. So we were stuck up in the branches."

Christa looked shocked. She grabbed his arms, looking him over. "Neither of you broke anything did you? I can't imagine how bad that must have hurt."

"You are seriously the most caring human being on the planet I swear. You've got to be the closest thing to an angel we'll see in this life. You're always so worried about how everyone is doing and making sure people aren't at each other's throats all the time. You'll probably be called Saint Christa by the time we graduate. That aside, no we didn't break anything we're both fine."

"I'm just glad you're both okay." She hugged him before resuming her previous inquiry. "So did you and Annie make good use of the alone time?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's one way of putting it. She's really different when you get her alone. I don't know how much practice she's had but, she kisses like she invented it." Josh laughed softly and grinned.

"Well now, someone moved things along pretty quick huh? It almost sounds like you're in love with her." The last part was said sarcastically; Christa already knew that answer to that.

"It's almost ironic seeing how when I was coming here, I told all of my friends that we wouldn't have time for that kind of stuff. It really is a funny change of events; yeah I think I am in love with her. You could see that from day one I remember."

"So, where do you think you'll go from here on?"

Josh thought about that. He couldn't really find an answer to give Christa. What happened from here on was more dependent on Annie than it was on him. All he could do was work with her on that and hope that things turned out favorably over the next weeks, months, or years. Regardless of the outcome, he'd be damned if he didn't give his all to making her his. Love, what a strange little word it was. Even more strange was the immense power it had over people.

He found Annie after dinner and they sat behind the mess hall and talked. She'd calmed down a bit after having time to herself to think over the "rescue".

"Well, even though that was probably one the most embarrassing moments of my life, it could have been worse." She put her hands on her chin and sighed. "Keeping up my appearance with these people is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

"Do you think you'll be able to do it for the next three years or maybe even longer?"

"Not at this rate, but let's just hope the number of people in the know doesn't get any bigger than it already is." Secrets had a bad habit of being able to crumble kingdoms if they got into the wrong hands at some point.

"I think you worry a bit too much about peoples' opinion of you to be honest. However, I'll do my best to help you preserve your public image if that is what you want."

She smiled at him. Despite his sometimes lack of forethought, he was genuinely a sweet guy and he meant well. It was more than she could say of most other guys who'd chased after her in her life. To be honest, all she wanted was to have a life that was normal, a life where she could be content; maybe he was her ticket to that life. She leaned close to him and he hugged her. The two of them shared a kiss and savored the peace and quiet for a few minutes before getting up and walking back to the barracks. In spite of herself, she found she was holding his hand, like he was her school girl crush or something. It was kind of embarrassing when she thought about it and when she did it he just smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Good thing nobody was out here to see it.

"Jean is such an ass; I can't believe someone that arrogant thinks he's MP material." A voice came from behind them. It was Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.

"Eren just let it go. You're not going to get anywhere by picking fights with him." Armin said for probably the fifth time.

"If he fights Eren he'll answer to me." Mikasa chimed in quietly.

Annie turned and looked Josh in the eye. "I'm really sorry about this." She knocked him on his back with a swipe of her leg. She spoke just loudly enough for Armin to hear her.

"If you follow me around like that again, you'll find yourself with a broken nose you creep." She walked off, leaving Josh a little dazed.

"Are you okay? What was that all about?" Eren ran over and helped Josh up.

"I'm not sure, that girl is kind of prone to violent outbursts I think." Josh brushed himself off. "That's three times since I got here she's done that to me."

"You might want to steer clear of her from now on then." Armin was as full of his sage advice as always.

"Thanks for the tip; I'll definitely take that into consideration." Josh coughed a little and looked off after Annie. _"I think this whole thing is going to take a bit of getting used to. All the punching and kicking hurts like a bitch, but damn I love that girl."_


	6. Chapter 6: Before the Storm

Three Years Later…

Year 850, four months before graduation

In the forest, amidst the branches of the trees, figures flew past in a blur. Gliding through the air like phantoms, only the hiss of decompressing gas marked their passing. The hunters sought their objective with intensity. It was in the next clearing over, they were sure of it. They would not be returning from the fields without achieving victory. Find the target and take it down, those were the orders. They were simple and straightforward. As the distance was closed, blades were drawn and locked into place. The sound of locking steel rang out and the swords gleamed in the sunlight. Now their quarry was in sight. Five of them were arrayed in the clearing, one for each of the hunters. This was the fifth and final set of the exercise; one attack run was all they got and all five targets had to be eliminated with precision accuracy. They group cleared the last stretch of branches and were now in the open.

"Alright guys, here we go; knock 'em down. Josh, Christa, Take the fourteen meter ones in the center! Jansen, you and Aline swing around and nail those two at the rear! Tall boy in the front is mine." Albrecht's voice was commanding and strong; the last few years of training had changed him. None of his friends had imagined he'd evolve into a leader like he had. During the last few months, the five of them had formed a capable squad and developed a solid average of kills during various training missions. This was the last of which before the final term started.

"You got it Al. Christa, I'm going to come in low and we're going to criss-cross on each other's targets. That way, we have a back up if one of us doesn't manage to cut deep enough on the first run." Josh swung down and fired his hook parallel to the nape of the wooden titan's neck. Across from him, Christa did the same. The duo sped themselves along the cables and drove their blades through the pads, cutting almost clean to the core on both. The sound was satisfying. An instant later they had rebounded off of the nearest tree trunks and launched into the air. They came down hard and severed what remained; steel slashing sideways as the pads fell to the earth in neat halves. When they passed again, they clapped their blades together in a sort of high five.

"Not bad Kassy, I think that was our best run all morning!" Christa was jubilant.

"Take a look at yourself, never would've imagined you to be so ferocious with a sword! God help the titan that tries to bite you!" Josh had his grin plastered on his face as usual.

For their part, Jansen and Aline made use of their own personal styles of cutting. Jansen came in from directly behind, whipping himself into a top-like spin to liberate the wooden monster of it's' neck. The blades both bit deep, a clean kill. He used his momentum to swing up into the trees again, pleased with his handiwork. Aline wasn't far behind him. Ready to strike, she brought her blades in close to her body and carved the neck in a punishing X-cut, shredding it into pieces.

She wheeled around the clearing, cackling victoriously. "Woooooo! Kicking ass and taking names, we are on fire today! Just wait until the boys get a load of me!"

"Yeah and when they do they'll realize they can do a lot better!" Jansen laughed.

Finally, came the largest of the five and Albrecht was poised for the kill. He took a deep breath and let his weight carry him through his maneuver. With split-second reflexes he fired his grapple between the legs of the rotating target, swinging into the opening by the skin of his teeth. He shot above the canopy and launched himself downward, shouting as he delivered the death blow. It just barely went deep enough. He had to work on that. After all, close only counted in horseshoes. It was an otherwise perfectly executed strike; he rejoined his friends. The five of them let out a triumphal roar as they reformed. "WIR SIND DIE JAGER!" We are the hunters. It had become the group's unofficial motto. In the time since they started training, they had all become even closer. As for Christa, she may as well have known them all her whole life. They had shed everything except blood together as a squad. They all laughed and sped out of the clearing, soaring into the thick cluster of trees and out of sight. It was still again, save for the rustling of the breeze through the branches. Up on a tree stand, Shadis had been scrutinizing each of them, making notes under their names.

_"__Albrecht Johannes, not as skilled with the sword as he is on ODM but, a natural born leader with brilliant tactical assessment time."_

_"__Aline Holde, artfully skilled with her blade, but possesses an ego large enough to crush a mansion."_

_"__Jansen Duerk, the kind of cadet who was born with the dream of being a soldier. All around above average grades, too focused on wanting glory and playing hero."_

_"__Christa Lenz, loved by her comrades, often seen as an angel. As an individual, her mannerisms seem at odds with soldiering but, as part of a team she excels in combat and promotes unit cohesion."_

_"__Josh Kassmeyer, makes the cut on and off the field, steadfastly loyal and determined, even if his mind does tend to wander."_

Shadis nodded to himself; the class had shaped up nicely. When the time came, he hoped they would all be ready to face down the real thing. It was a hard thing to hope for. No amount of training could truly prepare any soldier for their first taste of battle. Seeing comrades die all around you, suffering humiliating defeats again and again; it is an agonizing burden. Those who could carry that weight would survive where many others would not. Those would be the cadets that made him proud. Those cadets would be proof that he'd done right by them, trained them and made them as ready as he could. After that, it was a dance between them and the hands of fate.

The group stopped once they had made it to the edge of a shaded glen where they had parked their horses. Everyone was taking a much deserved breather after that.

"That has got to be our personal best. Was anyone keeping track of how long that last area took us to clear?" Jansen was beside himself.

"By my count, approximately thirty seconds all told from split to reform." Albrecht sat down on a nearby rock.

Josh came over and clapped him on the back. "You really came through for us out there man. You'll command your own company in the garrison before long." He took a drink from his canteen and looked around at his compatriots. They'd grown so much in the last couple of years, stronger, as individuals and together. In many ways though, they had stayed the same: Aline still had her mouth and ego, Jansen bore his uniform even more proudly than before, Albrecht was still a figure of contemplation, and Christa, as always, was the kindest human being on the face of the earth. Only now she had swords. Out of the entire group, she'd been the first to score a "kill" during training. Nobody had seen that one coming, especially Josh. Now, she was among the top cadets in the entire class. That smiling, helpful, peace loving girl was on the elite level. Training had slowly but surely molded them into proper soldiers. This was a time they would reflect on happily until the end of their days. Even with them splitting up after graduation, Jansen to the Scouts, Christa, the MPs, and Aline, Albrecht, and himself to the Garrison; he hoped they could stay in contact and stay friends. Josh thought about when they'd first left home, a lifetime ago now. He'd almost completely filled the journal his dad had given him; filled it with enough stories and tales to flesh out a trilogy of novels. One of which focused primarily on a certain girl he had fallen in love with. He never named anyone in particular; hint, it was Annie, not that anyone who read it would know that. At least he hoped they wouldn't. That was more because she'd kill him if anyone found out all of the mushy feely things he'd written about involved her. Even after all this time, she still insisted on keeping up her tough girl, I don't care about anything visage. On occasion that still included punching or kicking him a couple of times. She actually knocked Aline out once when her jibes had come close to letting the cat out of the bag. Josh almost felt bad that he'd laughed at the time.

Despite all the things about her that drove him crazy, the things he didn't understand; he wanted to marry her someday. Maybe they'd settle down in a quiet country village and raise a couple kids when everything was said and done. Everyone told him that he daydreamed too much. Jansen had once laughed and said he hoped the kids would call him uncle if they lived long enough to have families like that.

Maybe that was something worth raising a glass to? He stood up on the rock spreading his arms wide like a preacher. "Everyone, I would like to make a toast of sorts if I may?" He'd rather have had a stein; those were much more suited to such an occasion. He didn't know if anyone had ever raised a toast with just military canteens and water.

"With our canteens? What are we toasting to?" Aline laughed.

Josh smiled and raised his own. "To the future, may we all prosper and find fulfilling lives."

"And may we turn heads and raise hell until the day we die!" Jansen shouted.

"Don't you usually need alcohol to make a proper toast?" Albrecht asked curiously.

"Who cares if it's proper? Just pretend it's vodka or something if that makes more sense to you. To the future and raising hell!" Christa squeezed in and raised her flask. Everybody laughed at the unexpectedly fiery remark. No matter how well you thought you knew someone, they could still surprise you. She was evidently in an energetic mood. It wasn't surprising; all five of them had been running on adrenaline for several hours. They cracked their canteens together and drank. Training was soon to be over and they were on the edge of the home stretch. Then they would be soldiers, fighting the good fight as it were. When they'd drunk their fill of imaginary liquor, they mounted up to head in again.

They took their time, allowing themselves to enjoy the ride and the sunshine. A light breeze blew through the air and added to the tranquility. It temperatures weren't murderous up here like they could be in camp. There were trees and grass out here in contrast to the often hot baking dirt pit that the HQ of the Training Corps had been placed in. the heat was miserable at times, but when it rained, the work became really slow going as they slogged around in the mud. A number of them thought that the location had been chosen just for the reason of adding a little extra discomfort to the whole process. At least there were no more exercises until they started on hand to hand tactics tomorrow. On top of that, Shadis would still be grading squads in the forest course for a couple more hours so hurrying back wasn't necessary. After relishing in the peace and quiet for a time, the quintet came up to the crest of a small ridge before the road started to dip down towards the base. Josh could still see it the same way as day one all those months ago. He felt like he was always getting caught up in reminiscing these days for one reason or another. The month and years ahead were doubtless going to bring a lot of new experiences he would carry with him. At the back of his mind, there was a nagging sense that many of those would be nightmares.

They returned their horses to the stables and resolved to spend the afternoon relaxing. Once they were back at the barracks, the lot of them dropped their rigs and collapsed on their beds. They were tired. It had taken a while, but when the adrenaline had worn off finally, it hit them like a ton of bricks. Their limbs felt like lead and everything was sore. Several hours of training that morning and in between each target site they drilled constantly. This was done so that the further into the exercise they went; they felt as though they had intense battle fatigue.

"Okay, nobody bug me I'm taking a nap." Jansen mumbled through his pillow.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for hand to hand training tomorrow, maybe in a few days." Aline groaned.

"I swear to God the commandant probably planned out things with this in mind. At least hand to hand doesn't count much against our final grade." Josh rubbed his forehead.

"That's no reason not to take it seriously. Shadis cares more about that than your grade." Christa rolled over and looked down at him. "I don't disagree though. A little time to recuperate would be nice; you're always in more pain the day after an intense workout."

"You guys are being melodramatic. I'm not even the least bit tired; I could…do this stuff in…my sleep." Albrecht was already passing out.

"Well, I'm going to go take a hot shower maybe that will dull the pain for a bit." Josh grabbed a towel from his trunk and walked out the door in what amounted to the appearance of a drunken stumble. It must have looked rather comical to see him walking to the bath house. It took him three minutes of pulling on the door to remember that it pushed in. _"I really hope nobody saw that."_ Once inside, he no longer cared. The room was devoid of any company; it was nice to be alone for a while. He stuffed his uniform into one of the cubby holes and went to a cubicle. They all had short walls that were most likely for dividing up the units rather than providing any privacy. That was part of military life he supposed. Everything is made with efficiency in mind rather than individual comfort.

He pulled on the chain. It took a moment for the warm water to fill the pipe, but the dozen seconds of cold water was always worth it. There weren't really many "luxuries" afforded to them over the course of their time here. One was a consistent guarantee of food; the other was hot water. Pipes running underground connected to a nearby hot spring. This was the only place where that warm, rejuvenating blessing fed into the compound. The water rolled off of him, coming down through his hair in streams. Soothing was not even close to describing how good this felt. He realized how much he ached after the hot water started loosening his muscles. He felt so tired, the strain of the morning catching up to him more and more. Nothing in his body wanted to stay on at the moment. Slumping down to the floor under the shower head, he thought to himself. _"Maybe I can just take a quick nap. I'm shutting down whether I like it or not so why not? Just five minutes, that's all I need." _Then, he was out like a light.

A short while later, he stirred awake again, the sound of footsteps rousing him from slumber. Josh stood up and yawned, popping his back. His vision was a little fuzzy, but he could see someone changing over by the storage shelves. It took him a second or two to realize who it was. "Oh, hey Sasha, what's up?" he paused for a moment. He rubbed his eyes; she was cowering behind a towel.

"What the heck? Sasha what are you doing in here?!" He grabbed his towel, desperately trying to make himself decent.

"What do you mean what am I doing in here?! What are you doing in here?! These are the girl's showers you idiot!" Her face was a bright red.

"Holy shit I'm so sorry!" He was trying to cover himself and his eyes at the same time. "I didn't see anything I swear to God!"

"Get the frick out of here or I'm telling Shadis!" She looked infuriated.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't mean to. I was half asleep and just kind of stumbled i…"

"GET OUT!" She threw her boot at him. It narrowly missed his head.

"Okay okay, I'm going. I just need to change first."

"I SAID GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" She started throwing more stuff at him, moving across the room and using anything in reach to pelt him. She more or less chased him out the door, slamming it at his back.

"Can I at least have my clothes back?" He pleaded. After a moment, she threw them out the door into his face. "Thank you Sasha…" He pulled on his uniform, not noticing a cluster of people were looking around the corner at him.

"Did you have fun in there?" Jean said sarcastically. Connie, Marco, and Thomas were snickering behind him.

"You all are assholes and you can bite me."

"Did you get a look at her 'potatoes'?" Jean laughed. Connie actually looked like he wanted to know.

"I'm really starting to see why Eren hates you so much, Jean-Boy."

"What the hell did you just call me?"

"Nothing, never mind. Just try to be a little nicer or I'll have to tell your mom, Jean-Boy." Josh walked away and smirked. Jean was a prick, but at least it was easy to get under his skin.

"Ha, Jean-Boy." Connie was trying not to laugh.

"Shut up before I beat you Connie."

Whether that was the worst or most memorable thing that had happened this week he wasn't sure. Regardless, the sooner that it was forgotten the better. At lunch and dinner that day he was able to buy her forgiveness with his helping of meat and potatoes.

"So are we good now; is this behind us?" He sighed. She vigorously nodded as she wolfed down the extra food. That always seemed to be a surefire way to get on her good side. She had been kind enough not to tell anyone about it; and Jean had shut up after the little Jean-Boy quip. At least, with that issue resolved, he tried to sleep a little better that night. He needed the rest.

In the depths of that night he had a dream that he was standing in an open field. On the horizon he saw black clouds rising into the sky as rain poured down on him. He trudged through the muck, anxious to see what lay under the black clouds. However, every time he got near enough to try and make out anything, the clouds had receded away from him and he had to start the journey over. No matter how hard he tried, he never made it in time to see what lay under the clouds. The only other thing in the dream space was occasionally a rotted tree with a pairing blade stuck in it. The same cycle over and over again, never becoming any clearer as time passed. He wished there was some sense to be found in it, but he located none. It left him wondering how to discern it's meeting until sleep claimed him.

Close quarters combat training began in earnest after breakfast the following morning. Cadets paired up and worked with a range of different 'weapons': wooden daggers, wooden rifles, sometimes just their fists. It seemed weird to train for this kind of combat when the only thing they'd ever potentially fight was the titans. Reiner had said something about being prepared for any kind of battle and that the enemy came in many forms. "Soldiers, the ones worth their salt anyway, are prepared for anything." He'd said that as they walked up to the practice field. Jansen of course, hung on those words, intent on proving his skills to anyone he fought. Funny enough, the first person he went toe to toe with was Bertolt. Bertolt had no trouble winning that one, even though Jansen repeatedly tried to turn that around. His ability never seemed to live up to his bravado, but he was tenacious, you had to give him at least that much.

Josh kept his eyes open for Annie, actually kind of hoping to partner up with her for this. It was one of the few times they could be in intimate proximity to each other and nobody would question it. It was a convenient way to have a conversation with each other and maintain her "image" at the same time. Plus, the punches and kicks weren't hurting as much anymore. He was either getting used to it, or all of his nerves were dying from all the abuse. Even after three years, she hadn't managed to do any permanent damage. She probably knew where to hit him so that all he got was a few bruises. It had turned a few heads and raised concern among his friends, mainly Christa. She'd sometimes spend hours treating his newest array of "love marks". Like everything else, her bedside manner was almost better than most peoples' mothers would treat them. The guy who managed to win Christa over was doubtless going to be the envy of men everywhere.

He searched around for a while, trying to locate Annie while keeping enough distance to avoid attracting notice. He found her after a few minutes; it looked like she was beating on Eren. He hid behind a tree to watch and listen. Hopefully he wasn't there long enough to be spotted; he probably looked creepy doing this. He strained his ear to understand what they were saying.

"Wait, so you mean this training in general is pointless?" Eren stood up.

"Hand to hand combat doesn't really count against our final grade. The smart ones blow it off. It's a crap shoot anyway, only the top ten cadets get to serve in the interior. The rest of us, forget it. Point is, only idiots like you take this part of boot camp seriously. Idiots and whatever **they** are." She gestured over at Connie and Sasha who were acting like they were ninja fighting. Shadis wasn't too happy about that and he picked Connie up by his head and growled in his face. Eren was now trying to use her distraction to gain the upper hand in their knife fight. He wasn't winning. "First rule of this life kid, the better you are at dropping the bad guys, the more distance the powers that be put between you. That's what this whole stupid farce is about."

"Sure, whatever you say!" He tried to move her arm to get an advantage. She knocked his legs out from under him and held the knife to his neck.

"Face it, you don't fight the nature of things and win. Look around you Eren; all the sonsabitches really expect us to do is play the game. Don't be a pawn." She walked off the field and passed the area where Josh was hiding.

"Did you really have to be so vague and ominous back there?" Josh stepped out from his spot. Annie reflexively punched him in the chest, slightly startled. She looked down at him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't sneak up on me like that you retard. Wait, were you standing back here watching me this whole time?"

"Well, not this whole time, just the last few minutes." He looked off into space.

"That's not creepy at all." She helped Josh to his feet. "Am I wrong about what I said though?"

"I don't really see how it applies to you honestly. No doubt in my mind that you're going to be selected for the MP regiment." He coughed and cleared his throat.

"That's not the point Josh. It's about the people at the top seeing us as nothing more than toys to be thrown away when their done playing with us."

"Well, maybe we can fix things someday? You know, make a difference for the better." They started walking off towards a small grove of trees to relax.

"I'm not the system would hold together if someone like you was put in charge. You're too good of a person for that kind of job. As much as it sucks to admit, the people in power play dirty and that's how they get stuff done. People like you are too kind; nations have fallen because of leadership like that." She leaned against a tree and sighed, putting her hands in her pockets. She'd once told him that it wasn't pessimism that drove such feelings. She'd phrased it more as her being a realist. Her outlook on life wasn't as positive as his was ninety nine percent of the time. He preferred not to focus on that too much. He'd always enjoyed having a more uplifting attitude; it helped with the tedium of day to day life here. On top of that, distracting her from the negative was just something he could do for her from time to time. It wasn't a lot, but it had made her smile more often.

"So, all of this depressing junk aside that was some technique you used out there."

"That? That was nothing, just a couple of well timed kicks and the right amount of force to keep him down. It wasn't much harder than the basics really." She shrugged.

"You know a lot of moves I'm sure." He put his arms on either side of her and smiled mischievously. "Maybe you could teach me some of your more advanced techniques sometime?"

"Ha, don't be dirty you pervert." She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Besides, you don't ask for that kind of stuff from me. You have to be offered any special training."

"Are you saying you'd say no to me if I did ask?" Josh echoed a something she'd said to him a long time ago after their first kiss.

"I don't know, maybe if you're lucky, you'll get my answer someday." She leaned up and kissed him gently and pulled him to her. It always made his heart pound like crazy when she did that; it was funny. "Easy there Kassy, don't have a heart attack. If you can barely keep calm after that I don't know if you'll be able to handle everything else."

"Oh bite me; it's your fault for being so good at it." He laughed and the two of them sat down at the base of the tree. She grabbed his arm and snuggled up to him.

"You're stupid you know that?" A smile crossed her face and she looked out across the training field towards the lake. This was that kind mushy love crap that they wrote about in romance novels. They had their own spin on the whole deal, but it was close enough to work if you factored out the self imposed secrecy and occasional beating and bruising. He was a bit of a nut job, this guy. No one in their right mind would have willingly put up with all this for three years. Yet here he still was, just as enthusiastic about it as he was day one. He'd also done a superb job of working to keep her appearance going in front of everyone. The others had kept their mouths shut as well, mostly because she'd threatened to murder anyone who spoke about it.

The two of them had really grown on each other. If you'd told them that this was going to happen three years ago, Josh probably would have been overjoyed and then Annie would have punched him. Nowadays, they were able to just relax in each other's company and just ignore everything and everyone for a little while. When they were alone, nothing else really seemed to matter anymore; it was like the whole world stopped for them to have a moment of peace. She was so cute when she curled up to him. She always had this calm look that rarely presented itself on any other occasion. Josh looked down into her eyes and brushed the hair out of her face, he smiled.

"What are you smiling about up there?" She tilted her head back to look at him.

"It's funny to think that there were days when you really hated to cuddle."

"Please do me a favor and don't call it that. I still hate the C word."

Josh laughed and hugged her. _"I guess some things never change."_

Graduation day was upon them all before they knew it. The last couple of months were intense exercise after intense exercise. Everything from ODM to force marches day after day. Two hundred and eighteen of them made it all the way start to finish. All of them were arrayed before the commanders in the main yard. The hours before the ceremony had been full of excited shouting and words of congratulations among everyone. After that, they formed and listened to the final speech that had been prepared for them.

"Do you have heart?!" The Cadet Corps commander shouted from the stage.

"SIR!" All of them stood straight and rendered a salute.

"As of this moment you have three options open to you, choose wisely! There is the Garrison Regiment, whose job is to reinforce the walls! The Scout Regiment, they ride out into the titan territory to take back what was once ours! Finally, the Military Police, these soldiers maintain law and order under orders from his royal majesty! Those cadets eligible for the MPs have already been selected. The rest of you, take a good look; this is the top of your class!"

Ten cadets stood at the fore. They were the subject of envy and awe, the best young soldiers in the nation: Mikasa, Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Eren, Jean, Marco, Connie, Sasha, and at the very end, Christa. Everyone among them had their head held high. Well, Annie just kind of stood there looking nonchalant actually. Josh smiled to himself, proud that so many of his friends had made it to the MPs. Albrecht, Jansen, and Aline stood on either side of him. All of them looked every inch the soldiers they'd trained to be.

Look at them all. Full of piss and vinegar; ready to take on the entire world if they wanted to. Somebody, in a book somewhere had referred to it as the confidence of youth. Now, for good or ill, they were the defenders of the human race, a bastion against the crimson tide which threatened to engulf them. That was a good line, definitely one worth writing down in the journal. It sounded strong and poetic, perfect for a dramatic moment. That entry could wait however, this was the time for other matters.

"Cadets, in three days time, you will select your regiment. Whichever you choose will be where you utilize your training for years to come. Until that time, you will be stationed in Trost with the Garrison. You will assist with cannon maintenance as well as city and wall patrols. However, that is for tomorrow. For tonight, celebrate and have a good time; you all have earned it. Coming this far, you've made me damn proud of all of you. Now go out there and make you class proud! Cadets, you are dismissed!"

The class was able to change out of their uniforms and enjoy themselves. An entire hall had been reserved for them to have food and drink to celebrate their achievement. Josh managed to find a table with room enough for everyone in their group. Sasha brought over a tray with tankards for all of them and Jansen divided up the food plates. They were all laughing and clapping each other on the backs. It was truly a long awaited and glorious moment. A wave of bitter sweetness also was on them. There were only three more days before they had to go their separate ways; it felt much too soon. The blades of Karanese, as Eren had referred to them a few times, had spent their entire lives together. It was hard to imagine being flung across the kingdom from each other. The friends they'd made during training would be doing the same. Even as MPs they could be sent anywhere the government chose. It pained Josh to think that he may never see any of them again. He shook it off, the time for goodbyes would be later. He rose to his feet, stein in hand.

"Everyone, I am and will always be honored to have spent my training alongside each of you. Come what may, I pray for the best for all of us. We came so far in three years that I barely recognize myself. Wherever the wind blows us, I hope that someday, we can all come back to this place and to raise our glasses in friendship. To us, and to class 104, the future of humanity's finest."

"Someday, they're going to talk about our class in the outlying districts of Wall Maria. Let's make sure they have plenty to talk about!" Jansen downed his beverage in one go. He leaned so far back that he fell off of the bench.

"Wow Jans, had to make an ass of yourself at least one more time before we're done?" Aline was cracking up. "God help the scouts if they sign you on."

"Says the girl who will probably sleep her way to the top of the Garrison." He grunted as he stood up again.

"You rotten bastard, get over here!" Aline leapt over the table and Jansen started running. Much to the amusement of everyone in the room, she chased after him. There was a certain nostalgia factor to it Josh felt. He stared at them, fighting like little kids. They were all changed, but still so much the same. They could think of these moments someday and smile. As long as they had times like this to remember, they'd be close with one another no matter where they were.

"You know, before we all split, you need to go and talk to Annie. See if you can find a few hours of one on one time." Christa looked sidelong at Josh.

"Yeah, I know. I've been trying to avoid thinking about it very much. It's almost too much for me to bear, not knowing when I'll see her again."

"You may not have made it into the top ten, but you did well enough that you may be able to put in a location request with the Garrison. With any luck, they'll let you be stationed where her police precinct is."

"You really think that would work?" He was kind of skeptical of the idea. Nobody up top owed him any favors and the military wasn't known for doing things out of the good of their hearts.

"When you love someone, life will always find a way to bring you back to them. It may not happen that way, but it will. Somehow you'll find her again." She always managed to help the situation resolve itself. She was always ready to assist in problem solving. She'd make you feel happy when you were down or pick you up when you'd fallen. She could probably stop a war just by telling people to give each other a hug. Christa Lenz was nothing short of a saint. Josh knew he was going to miss her a lot. It was going to feel weird for a while not having that little angel hovering around.

"You better take care of yourself out there alright? People are liable to try and take advantage over a cop with a heart of gold like yours. If anyone tried to hurt you I'd probably kill them."

"Listen to you going into big brother mode over here. Don't worry, I'll be fine trust me on that one. I know how I look, but I didn't make it into the top ten because of my looks or good nature. I've got the skills to deal with any problems that come my way." Josh smiled to himself; she was right. You'd never guess the caliber of soldier she was by looking at her or talking to her. That would probably surprise more than a few unwary criminals.

The night's revelries continued on for a number of hours, punctuated at one point by a very poignant speech from Eren about humanity's fight against the titans. It was so eloquently worded that Josh scrambled to get it written down somewhere in his journal. He'd need to get some more paper before he shipped off. Three years worth of stories and notes had filled it up almost completely. When all was said and done, he'd have one hell of a book to put together. By the time the hall was almost empty, cadets had scattered themselves across town doing all sorts of things and getting up to mischief. The MPs were having a hell of a time keeping them all in line. It was a good thing Shadis wasn't there to see this; he'd be cracking a few heads. He headed back to their sleeping quarters alone, Christa having been pulled aside by that tall girl named Ymir. If they were friends, he didn't see why. Ymir's personality was very abrasive and she was passive aggressive at the best of times. That being said, walking back by himself he bore witness to some interesting spectacles. He saw Franz and Hannah going at it in an alley he passed. Armin had been approached by a courtesan while he walked with Marco and he seemed thoroughly unsure how to react. Connie and Albrecht were busy trying to keep Sasha from stealing from a local bakery; the scent of fresh bread always overtook her sense of logic. Perhaps most surprising of all, he'd found Jansen hiding in a barrel. Aline apparently was still hunting for him. There were only a handful of people present when he finally made it to their billet and Josh got right into bed.

He had that dream again. Several times during the night it woke him up and it started up again whenever he went back to sleep. It was different this time though. The field was now covered in swords sticking out of the mud. The rock that the first one was in had split in half. The black clouds were thicker and more present. He ran across the plain towards the small promontory. It seemed urgent that he reach it. When he was finally able to reach the crest of the rise, he froze. Far away under the ebony-grey sky, it looked like a city was burning. The rain had stopped; it felt like he could taste ash on the wind. The flames were so far away, but he could feel the heat on his face. There was the sound of a large explosion in the direction of the city. Then the landscape around him began to shift. The area below the small hill was now covered in blood. Rising like the tide, it raged in a river all around him. Bodies were writhing around in the mire, their features impossible to make out under the coat of vitae. They were crying out something in a language he didn't understand. Soon, their attentions turned to him. They rose up, climbing the hill, reaching out for him. He wanted to run, to flee the godforsaken place, but he couldn't move. They numbered in the dozens, slogging up to him repeating the same phrase over again. **_"Omnes, qui vivimus, iam inter mortuos."_** It sounded like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The monstrosities pulled at him, dragging him down into the sea of death. He couldn't fight them; he couldn't even scream. Then, right before the sky was lost to his sight, he would wake up in a cold sweat. He was even more confused than before and now he was scared. He went over the parts he could remember again and again, hoping to reach some conclusion about what it all meant. The hours passed him by and even when morning came, he'd made no headway.

"That's a pretty eerie dream Josh. It'd freak me out completely if I had it." Jansen said to him over breakfast.

"So you didn't get any sleep last night at all? You look terrible." Aline actually sounded genuinely concerned for once. Everyone at the table had that worried look on their faces. Whether he really looked that bad after only one night without sleep, or the dream had them feeling just as anxious as he was remained unclear.

"Well, maybe working on the cannons will take your mind off of it?" Christa offered. It probably wouldn't do a lot, but it was about as good of a plan as any.

"Yeah, maybe. Let's just get to it then, I don't want to have to dwell on it anymore than I already have to."

They finished their food and went to the armory. The quintet geared up, strapping their tanks and blades to their hips. As he slid it into his scabbard a strange sense of foreboding was nagging at the back of his mind. It felt like something was coming, something bad. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he knew it had something to do with the dream. He kept thinking about the swords in the field. It had taken some time to notice, but they had all been arrayed in rows and lines, perfect rows and lines. It was like he was lost in a fog and couldn't see anything around him. Why didn't any of it make sense? He walked with his friends down towards the wall. There was no sense in using gas until they needed to scale it anyway. They were closing on the gate when Albrecht stopped dead in his tracks.

"Did you guys just feel that?"

"Feel what?" Aline looked at him dubiously.

"That rumble, or shaking maybe I don't know I just felt a tremor."

"You're imagining things Al, we don't get earthquakes in the southern territories."

"No, he's right, I can feel it too." Christa sounded nervous. "If it's not an earthquake, then what could possibly be causing it?"

A bolt of lightning cracked down from the sky on the other side of the wall. The ground shook violently and they all struggled to keep their balance. It was followed by a massive explosion of light and steam. Everyone was breathless; no one made a sound. Out of the cloud, a face with no skin rose up above the ramparts. Muscle and sinews exposed for all to see. Its eyes were leering down upon the city as steam billowed up around it. Then, there was a great crashing sound. It was like rock being blasted apart with explosives. They all looked at each other; there was fear in everyone's eyes. Jansen had fallen to his knees and was pointing toward the wall. He was shaking.

"Guys, look a…at…th…the…ggg…gate."

"Jans, what do mea…oh my god." Albrecht collapsed, his knees buckling under his weight. The place that had once been the gate to Trost was now just a smoldering pile of rubble. The only thing holding back the titans was nothing more than a memory. "Hey Josh, remember those swords in your dream? I just figured something out. Tell me, what is the one thing usually arranged in lots of straight rows?"

"Alb please, don't say it."

"Headstones…"


	7. Chapter 7: Guren No Yumiya

It was like time had stopped. Like they were frozen in this one terrible moment, unable to comprehend what they were all seeing. Aline looked like she was going to throw up. Jansen and Albrecht were in a complete stupor, even Christa was at a loss; her eyes were alive with a primal sense of terror. Josh's mind was repeating the phrase _rows of headstones_ over and over again. Some of the buildings nearest the gate were smoking and on fire. Massive chunks of rock had been scattered for blocks by the force of the blow, crushing anything in their path.

"Is this what happened in Shinganshina? The gate is just gone; that titan kicked through it like it was made of sand." The words dribbled out of Jansen's mouth like he only half knew how to speak them.

"So that's what it looks like…the face of death." Albrecht unsteadily tried to rise.

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening. Someone please tell me this isn't real." Aline was starting to sob. She was clutching at her head, almost ripping out some of her hair.

Josh was biting his lip so hard it was starting to bleed. Two opposite feelings were fighting inside him; a desire to drop his weapons and run, not eager by any stretch to have one of those headstones with his name on it. The other part of him wanted to charge in and take it out, stop this thing before it started. Perhaps if they could organize enough of their fellow cadets, they could engage the titan and take it down? That was a crazy idea. None of them had ever fought an actual titan, let alone one of such proportions and strength as the Colossal possessed. What possible strategy could they use on something that big?

Most of the group was busying worrying about dying, but one of them had already gone back to worrying about everyone else.

"There's only one squad of cadets up on that part of the wall cleaning the cannons; they won't stand a chance against the Colossal Titan on their own. Guys, we have to go help them; Sasha, and Connie are up there!" Christa sounded on the verge of panic.

"What, are you out of your mind?! There's no way in hell we can fight that thing!" Aline practically screamed.

"She's right we don't have the skills to drop it. We're fresh out of training; even the veterans would have a hard time dealing with it." Albrecht was doing his best to approach the situation logically under the circumstances. He half stammered the words.

"Well, I'm not going to let our friends die up there! I'm going to go help, even if I have to go alone." Christa launched herself up onto the nearest roof and took off toward the wall.

"Christa, wait!" Josh called after her. He swore under his breath and let out a heavy sigh. Fear was settling in every single one of his bones. It was trying to weigh him down; it was an effort just to move his arms. Inside of him, frustration and anger was rising to a boiling point. He felt like kicking himself. Is this who he was going to be when it came down to brass tacks? Was he going to hide in the rear while his comrades died doing their duty? What kind of man did that make him? He had no right to call himself a soldier if he turned tail at the first sign of danger. On top of that, he let Christa run headlong into battle all alone. Forget being a terrible soldier; that just made him a terrible friend and an asshole. That was much worse. He ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. "Aw hell, screw it. None of my friends are going into combat worrying if I have their back or not." Josh unsheathed his swords and took off in pursuit, leaving his three friends in his wake. A couple seconds of mulling it over was all it took for them to make their decisions. Two out of five going into their first battle wouldn't look very good on their record; especially if they just stood here like halfwits the whole time.

"He's right." Jansen collected himself and rose. "We spent three years training for this; we all knew someday that we would have to face the enemy. So that day is finally here and I'll be damned if the Blades of Karanese become synonymous with the word cowardice. It's time to pull steel and cut a few necks. Besides, living forever never sounded all that glamorous to me." There was a sharp rasp as he drew two fresh blades, running his finger across the edge to make sure they were sharp.

"Well, there's no way I'm going to let you and Kassy show me up. Boys will start thinking I'm nothing more than a pretty face if I just sit at the back when the fireworks start." Aline shook herself off and reestablished her composure. Her ego didn't take long to follow suit. "I bet if I can take down that titan, boys will be lining up around the block to date me. Guys think there's nothing hotter than a girl who knows how to use a weapon."

"In all seriousness, I hope the titan manages to eat your personality." Albrecht rubbed his eyes and straightened himself, pushing down his apprehension. "104th Cadet Corps, squad 7, load up and move out! We link up with other squads and engage the Colossal Titan, WIR SIND DIE JAGER!"

A couple blocks ahead, Josh was racing to keep up with Christa. She was about five houses ahead of him, running from rooftop to rooftop. She was getting a lot closer to the wall. He looked up; the titan was still casting its' awful gaze down upon the city. On the side of the battlements, a handful of soldiers were hanging on with their grappling hooks. It had to be Connie and Sasha's squad. They must have been knocked off of the wall by the explosion. At least it looked like everyone was still alive. He thought he could hear someone yelling up there; it kind of sounded like Eren. It must have been Eren, because someone was swinging themselves up the wall back to the cannon emplacements. What was he hoping to accomplish on his own? He couldn't fight the Colossal Titan all by himself, even if he thought otherwise.

Christa was reaching the end of the housing blocks and starting up the wall. Josh sped up, hoping to close the distance. He admired her courage and desire to help others. Few people possessed it in the quantities she did, but she was being a bit reckless it seemed to him. Hopefully the monster was distracted by Eren once she got up to the top, or she'd be in big trouble. The thought only served to hasten his upward advance. After he caught up with Christa, he'd have to use his gas a bit more sparingly. He'd need all the fuel he could muster if they were going to fight this thing.

He gripped the triggers tightly, flinging himself up onto the ramparts just after Christa had disappeared from his view.

"Christa, damn it, wait up!" She was running towards the Colossal Titan at full bore. He sheathed his blades and sprinted after her. Up close, their quarry seemed impossibly large. Josh could see Eren, poised to attack the beast. Even just next to its' head, he seemed as nothing but an insect. So far, this was the scariest moment of Josh's life. They needed at least something akin to a plan if they wanted to win this. Eren could rush in without thinking, but Josh wouldn't let Christa or himself wind up in boxes like that suicidal maniac.

"Stop for God's sake! Hang on a minute!" Josh caught her by the arm, halting her charge. She tried to push past him, undeterred. He planted himself in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "We can't just bum rush this one. This is the largest titan in existence; we'll get eaten or crushed if we go about this like Eren is going to! Not to mention that we've never even faced a normal titan in combat!"

"We need to buy some time for the rest of the squad to regroup. If we can distract it long enough for everyone else to get organized, we stand a chance of beating it."

"We should hold off engaging it entirely at least until Alb, Jans, and Aline show up."

"Remember what we were taught in history class? The last time the Colossal Titan attacked, it stayed just long enough to kick in the gate for the other titans. If we wait until they're all here, it could be long gone. We'd miss our best shot at leveling the playing field for a while. I don't remember Joshua Kassmeyer being the kind of guy who backs down from a challenge, no matter how tough it looks."

Christa was staring him down with those enormous eyes of hers. They didn't have anger in them like a normal person's would; they had worry. They were pleading for his help. He hated himself for having to be talked into doing his job, but she had a point. The Colossal Titan was the reason the Wall Maria had fallen in the first place. As he'd said, it was the biggest titan in existence. If the enemy could formulate battle strategies, this would be their ace in the hole. If they allowed it to escape this time around, there was no telling when they'd get another chance to kill it. If he didn't go with her, she'd undoubtedly go alone. He couldn't sleep at night knowing that he'd let Christa, and everyone else down like that.

He sighed heavily and pulled his weapons again. "Alright, let's do this. We just need to keep it interested so it stays put for a bit longer. No unnecessary risks. If Eren has a death wish, that's on him; but neither you nor I are going down today."

"There's the Kassy I know and love." She smiled and clapped him on the back with the hilt of her sword.

"Just don't rush off alone like that next time. You made the top ten, but even the best of us don't win battles on their own." Josh looked up at Christa as he said it; her eyes were growing impossibly wide. He could feel a rush of air coming behind him and he tensed.

"Josh move!" She screamed and threw him sideways off of the battlements.

"Christa what the hell?!" he looked back just in time to see the titan's arm sweep across the top of the wall, taking the guns and a swathe of masonry with it. The whole thing had missed her by a handful of feet. She was a guardian angel if ever there was one, always looking out for him and everyone else in the 104th. They had to quickly fire their grappling hooks to stop their free fall. They found purchase and the two of them skidded to halt as a cascading rain of iron and stone fell past them to the earth below.

"It just took out every cannon guarding the gate. When the titans show up in numbers, we won't be able to stop them." Christa grimaced.

"Wait a minute, first it blows a hole through the gate and then it destroys our primary means of defending it? Do you…do you think that he planned this? Oh God what if this one has intelligence?!" That was a terrifying thought. Titans were bad enough if they were just stupid and hungry. If one of them was capable of tactical decision making, they were definitely screwed.

"Then that's probably all the more reason to take it out now. We can't delay any longer or it'll be gone. We have to end this."

Josh nodded and they scaled the wall again, blades at the ready. When they landed, they were already running, furiously trying to close the gap. They could see Eren flying around behind it; he was trying to get a bead on its' weak spot. It didn't seem to be trying too hard to stop him, but at least it was distracted from their approach. The window of opportunity wouldn't be open long; so they went right through it.

Josh Shot his cable into the left side and Christa shot hers into the right. From there they could swing down behind the legs. If they took out its' knees, Eren would have a much easier time striking at its' neck. Well, that was the hope anyway, considering neither of them had a chance to speak to Eren about it. If they were lucky, he would have seen them coming in and picked up on the plan. If he hadn't, they were making most of this up as they went anyhow. The two of them launched into the air and downward. Josh savored the adrenaline rush and the feeling of weightlessness as he sprang into the nothingness. He and Christa swung around in a wide arc, like they had done so many times during training. They'd have to time it perfectly; there would be no time or way to come back around for a second strike. They were roughly parallel to one another as they gunned it across the gap. The closer to the objective they came, the more Josh felt his fear ebbing away into determination. This was what they had spent three years training for. Every moment had led up to this. Here he was, just some raw recruit from Karanese, poised to help bring down the single greatest threat to humanity his first time in combat. If this worked, when his books were published they would fly off of the shelves. A book written by one of the three Colossal Titan slayers would sell thousands of copies. That would be just based on reputation alone. Now that he was pondering it, war hero sounded like a nice addition to his resume. They might even give him a medal for valor.

He stopped his train of thought. _"Oh dear lord, I can't believe it; I'm turning into Jansen! Next thing I know, I'll be hitting on every girl I see and giving lame ass speeches. I gotta kill this line of thinking before it becomes a cancer."_ He was amused to find that the idea of being so similar to one of his best friends genuinely horrified him, almost to the point of nightmares. Still, it might make for a good joke. He'd have to tell everyone else about it later; it would be funny to see Jansen's reaction to the idea.

Josh shook himself back to reality quickly; he was doing it again. He couldn't have his mind wandering at a moment like this. No more daydreaming like he used to in training. This time lives were on the line. All his focus needed to be squarely on the task at hand. He pulled his triggers tight and flung himself around the titan's back. Christa was doing the same and she gave him a determined nod. At the same time, their free hooks fired, lodging themselves into the joints behind its' knees. Blades poised for the strike, they readied themselves for when they would make contact. Josh drew back, nearly within range. Then something shifted in the course of events. The titan must have realized what was happening, because it began spewing a wave of steam out from all over its' body. It hit Christa and himself like a gale force wind, slowly pushing them back in spite of their anchors. The ember filled gas obscured their vision, scorched their faces, and burned their lungs when they took a breath.

"Son of a bitch, he must be trying to knock us loose!" Josh was trying to keep his balance.

"We have to gun it! I'm not sure how much of this my cables can manage!" Christa's voice was barely audible over the roar of the steam. She clutched her release as tight as she could; she hoped that Josh was doing the same.

She didn't have to tell him twice, he was already moving, his thoughts filled with malice. _"Nice try, but you're not getting off that easy this time. You're going to reap what you've sown you bastard."_ He grunted and let out a triumphal shout as he swung his blades. He was startled when he felt them bite nothing but the cloud in front of him.

The last bit of the wind blew some of the murk away. Josh coughed and gagged, choking on his own surprise. There was nothing in front of him; the titan was gone. A short distance away, he saw Christa emerge, appearing equally shocked and bewildered. They reattached themselves to the wall, desperately needing to get their bearings. The two of them took a moment to gather their thoughts and catch their breath.

"Please tell me that didn't just happen."

"Josh, I'm not entirely sure how to answer that. I don't really understand what I just saw."

"There's no way it could just vanish into thin air like that right? Titans can't do that can they?" He was trying to keep from sounding freaked out.

"Well what other explanation do we have? It's not like it could've snuck past us. Maybe Eren knows what happened; he had a better view of things as high up as he was."

"Josh, Christa, are you guys okay?!" a voice called out from above them, it was Albrecht. Aline and Jansen were flanking him. They all had the same freaked out look on their faces. Josh and Christa wasted no time rejoining their squad mates on top of the wall.

"Did you guys see anything?" Christa inquired anxiously.

"We got here just as the titan started shooting that steam everywhere. It nearly blew us off the bulwark before it started clearing. It's unbelievable what happened. The thing pulled a damn magic act, it's just gone." Aline was annoyed and apprehensive. "I can't believe we were outwitted by a titan of all things."

"Don't be so surprised, I think this one planned the attack. It was probably breaching our walls so that the other titans can get in."

"That's ridiculous; they don't have anything resembling intellect."

"Kassy and I thought so too, but this one is different. Both times, it has shown up when we were least expecting such an attack. Both times, we were completely off our guard. It's almost like it knew exactly when to hit us."

"So now they can strategize? Oh that's just perfect; and on top of that he can make himself disappear?!" Jansen kicked a piece of debris and roared in frustration.

"We were so close. If we'd have killed him, it would have been a major victory, maybe even a turning point in the war." Josh swore and raked his fingernails down the sides of his face.

"Now there's a massive breach in our defenses and the first waves of titans might show up at any time. We need to consolidate our forces and hold the gate as long as we can." Albrecht was already putting together a battle plan. He was starting to lay out some preliminary details when a sergeant from the Garrison Regiment arrived.

"Cadets, report, what is your unit?" The woman landed in front of them and they all rendered a crisp salute.

"Ma'am, 104th Cadet Corps, Squad Seven, we were assigned here for artillery maintenance and were reporting for duty when the titan struck the fortifications." Albrecht spoke as clearly and loudly as he could without yelling.

"Did any of you manage to engage the enemy before it disappeared?"

"Yes ma'am, we did. I am Cadet Joshua Kassy…Kassmeyer and I along with Cadet Christa Lenz were momentarily involved in combat with the Colossal Titan." Had **he** just almost called **himself** Kassy?

"Your squad needs to report for debriefing immediately. We need all of the details you can provide on the encounter. That said, Operation: Colossal Titan Response is going into effect. I know you may be a little shaken up, but you are expected to take part. It won't be long before the enemy arrives in force and we need to get all of the civilians out of the city as quickly as possible. Our advance team will hold them here as long as we can; after that it's up to you and the Vanguard. Godspeed recruits."

"Yes ma'am!" All five of them shouted as she ran off to join the defensive line being established. They all looked at each other nervously. None of them wanted to imagine what might be in store for everyone that day. How many soldiers did they have to hold Trost, a few hundred maybe? That was including all 218 of the cadets. Who among them wasn't going to make it back alive? Training can prepare you for a lot of things, but how many titans would show up? Could be anywhere from a handful to a hundred or more undoubtedly. If that was the case they'd need a miracle of some kind or a super weapon. Since neither of those things seemed likely, did they really have enough people to hold the city; or would they have to abandon it like they had all of the outlier districts of Wall Maria? They couldn't think about that right now, defeatism would only serve to undermine what chances they had of success. Right now, they needed to get back to the citadel and join with the rest of their company.

Inside the supply depot, officers were shouting orders and words of heroism as cadets ran around, stocking up on blades and filling their tanks to the brim. At least their training was setting in, but how long would their compulsion override their fraying nerves when the limbs started flying? Josh had stocked his tanks and made sure all of his blades were good and sharp. He took stock of the events about to unfold around him. His fear had returned to him since the failed assault on the Colossal Titan only a couple of hours before. It felt more like it had been several days. He had had a lot to think about in those last couple of hours, a lot that wanted to say and not a lot of time to say it in. He sat down on a box and drew his journal from his pocket. There was only one page left unfilled. His withdrew a stick of graphite and began to pen a few words.

He repeated them in his head as he wrote. _"Dear Mother and Father, I graduated from training yesterday. Can you believe that it's been three years already? I almost feel old just thinking about it. Dad, you would be so proud of me. I filled up every single page of this journal with stories and stuff for my books…this is the last page. We're all going into action against the titans for the first time today. The gate to Trost has been destroyed and soon they'll be in the city, possibly as I'm writing this. Myself, Aline, Jansen, Albrecht, and our friend Christa are in a squad together, so I'll be deploying with them. I must confess that I do not know what today holds for me or any of us. So, it is with extreme reluctance that I do this. I am writing this letter to you in case I don't come back. I've done a lot of growing up in these past couple of years. I've done things I could never have imagined; I've made lots of wonderful friends, I even fell in love with a girl. She's amazing mom and I'd love for you to meet her someday. I wrote a lot about her in my journal, almost a whole book's worth. Just don't tell her that I did, she's easily embarrassed, and has a bit of a temper, but she's a sweet girl and I love her more than anything. Her name is Annie Leonhardt. So…if I am to perish on the field of battle today, I want you to…I want you to know that I love you both so much and that I have no doubts about the cause for which I may be about to lay down my life for. If my death helps us have a brighter future…then…I…gla…gladly…"_ His hands shook and tears stung his eyes, falling to the paper and smudging the occasional word. He was trying not to sob and bit his knuckle so no one would hear him. _"I can't, damn it I just can't do it! I have to write this for them; I owe them both at least that much, but…I can't do it."_ He set the notebook down and put his head in his hands, tears now freely flowing down his cheeks. He heard footsteps approaching him.

"Kassy, are you crying? What's wrong?" it was Christa.

"No…nothing, I just um, I'm just kind of emotional rig…right now is all."

"What is that you're writing in your journal?" She scooped it up from beside him.

"No Christa, please don't read that!"

Her eyes were getting all big again and she almost looked like she was going to cry too. "No way, nuh uh mister, you are not pulling this on me, not today! I don't ever want to see a single thing like this on a page you write ever again!" She tore the page out and wadded it up.

"Christa seriously come on, I was writing that for my parents! I need to do at least that much for them!" He was trying to protest, but it was proving difficult. He'd never seen her mad or upset like this before; he wasn't even aware that it was a possibility for her.

"You're talking like you're already dead and gone! What good is that going to do anyone?! No offense, but what's the matter with you?! You're not allowed to just give up like that. I won't let you and neither will the rest of the squad. Aside from that, Annie will beat the ever living crap out of you if she sees you writing stuff like this, it would crush her. That's pretty selfish of you if you ask me…again Kassy I don't mean any offense."

Josh grabbed Christa and hugged her, not caring if she saw him cry anymore. "Christa, I…I'm just really scared. I'm terrified right now. Regardless of how the battle ends, a lot of people are going to die today. What if we don't make it back?!"

"It's okay to be scared, I'm scared too; we're all scared. This is our baptism of fire and it's not going to be easy. We can't think about it like that though, there are people who will be counting on us to get this done. We can do it if we have faith in each other as a team. If we do that, we'll make it, we will win. Come on, I've seen you overcome your fears once today already. We took on the biggest titan alive; that was something wasn't it? Think about telling that story to your kids someday. Tell them about how you stood your ground and advanced when nobody else had the guts to. You can do this, I know you can. The Blades of Karanese need their assault team today, are you with me?"

Josh was stunned for a moment. That was literally the best motivational speech he'd ever heard. A number of others in the vicinity had taken notice as well. The room was already taking on a more positive energy. He couldn't help himself from laughing a little bit.

"I'm seriously waiting for wings to sprout from your back and a halo to appear above your head. If you're not giving me advice, you're saving my life. I have no idea what we'd do without you. I swear you do more for morale than someone could by slaying twenty titans single handedly and you'd probably have to be the size of a titan to do that."

"I never really think of it as anything special; I'm just being myself." She smiled that big smile of hers and Josh swore he saw a couple of guys get weak in the knees for a second. She had that funny way of accidentally winning the heart of every man who looked her way it felt like. "We need to get formed up with the rest of the company in the courtyard. They're going to brief us on the operation plan. We'll have fifteen minutes after that before we deploy. When you get those fifteen minutes, go find Annie and talk to her real quick. This is a huge day and I think you both could use something to ease your nerves a bit."

Outside, every single one of them was arrayed before Captain Woerman and his staff, ready and waiting for orders.

"I want everyone split into four squadrons as practiced! All squadrons are responsible for supply running, message relay, and enemy combat under the command of the Garrison Regiment! The intercept squadron will be taking the Vanguard. Cadets will take the Middle Guard led by the support squad! Rear Guard will go to the Elites. I expect you all to man your posts knowing that the Advance Team has been wiped out!" Everyone collectively gasped in shock. That had been an experienced team of dozens of Garrison Regiment veterans. If they were all dead already, this was going to be an even tougher fight than anticipated.

"You heard correctly cadets, the outer gate is history; the titans are in! This likely means that the Armored Titan will reappear at some point! If and when he does, the inner gate will also be history!" There were scared murmurings throughout the ranks. The possibility that Wall Rose might fall to the titans was unthinkable. If that happened, they could kiss the human race goodbye. The captain shouted for quiet and continued his speech. Christa had been right about one thing at least. Everyone was scared, Woerman looking almost especially so. Having to organize such an operation like this was no doubt stressful even under ideal circumstances.

"Those in the Vanguard have to be ready. The area is now well saturated with the enemy! Your objective is a very simple one; defend the wall until the evacuation of Trost's civilians is completed! Now, let me remind you all that desertion is punishable by execution! If it comes to it, you must lay down your lives! You are dismissed!"

"Sir!" The cadre rendered the salute before dispersing into their squads. A good number of them were busy trying to shake themselves out of being terrified half to death. Christa was trying to comfort someone who was throwing up. Josh couldn't think of the guy's name. He tried not to think about how many he may not have the chance to learn after today. He had to focus on finding Annie; there wasn't a lot of time. He passed by Jean and Eren, they were fighting again. Josh was surprised by the motivational speech the Eren was cranking out, and so was Jean by the look of it. A bunch of the more frightened cadets managed to get to listen in on it. This kind of stuff was good for morale. They needed as much of that as they could find right now. If all of them could muster their courage for this fight, maybe they'd have enough people to celebrate with afterwards.

It had been five minutes so far and Josh was getting more frantic to find Annie with the clock counting down like it was. He called out to her a couple of times, running around the courtyard before he was pulled into a dimly lit hallway. He was surprised for a moment. A hand was clapped over his mouth. He was trying to speak through the hand when the assailant raised their head. There was a flash of blue eyes in the gloom, and Josh pushed the hand away before grabbing the person's face and kissing deeply.

"I guess I didn't scare you too much then huh?" Annie laughed quietly.

"I haven't seen you really since yesterday morning and I really needed to do that. It's a pretty good hiding spot, but how'd you know I'd come over here?"

"A girl has her ways; I knew you'd come running by eventually though. So, time for the pep-talk right?"

"Sure, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you're not really worried. The only thing that seems to faze you is being caught in public with me, haha."

"Oh shut up, you know it's not like that. You just love doing stuff that makes me feel all girly and embarrassed. It'd be awkward on a level I can't imagine if everyone saw the side of me that you see all the time. Besides, who said I wasn't worried? Maybe I'm just doing a good job of hiding it."

"I know, you've always been good at keeping it behind that implacable and adorable façade of yours." He sighed and held her waist. "This is a big day. I know there's going to be a lot of graves to dig at the end of it and I needed to see you before I went out."

"I was hoping to avoid this kind of thing honestly. That was part of my plan with joining the MP Regiment, just going to live the quiet life and be a normal girl. I think most of us were hoping we'd never have to see a titan, let alone fight one. I'm glad you came though. Seeing you is definitely going to help me get through all of this. Well it will when I'm not worrying about you." She hugged him tightly, her head against his chest.

"You don't need to worry about me, no way in hell I'm not coming back for you. Christa actually told me that I may be able to make a request to be garrisoned in the city where your MP squadron is based. If that works out, we may not be living together, but we'll still be able to see one another when we're off duty."

"I would like that, but don't tell me not to worry Josh. I don't ever spend energy worrying about anyone so you're special in that regard. It's going to be crazy out there today just make sure you watch yourself; I won't be there to have your back so I'm just trying to keep all of the what ifs out of my head."

"I've got a great team out there always keeping me covered, I'll be fine, I promise. Just focus on keeping yourself safe for me okay?"

"I'm the last person that has anything to worry about when it comes to fighting; you know that probably better than anyone. For you though, just in case you need a little extra luck out there…" She pushed him up against the wall and gave him a smile. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him passionately. It was almost like reliving that first surprise kiss from her all over again. She was good at this in a way that almost startled him. He'd describe her the way Shadis would, as someone with heaps of native talent.

"How much time do we have?" Josh pulled her against him again.

"We have probably five minutes before we have to get out there."

"Then let's not waste a second of any of them." Josh gave her a smile and she winked at him. Those blue diamond eyes full of mischief and longing. They kissed each other at the same time. Even in the cool darkness of the hallway, it was beginning to feel rather hot. She danced her fingers up his spine, making him breathe shakily and bite his lip as they made exchanges in a wordless conversation. His hands were running up and down her sides, experiencing the subtle curves of her abdomen and hips. Her breathing was heavy and each exhalation hung heavy in the air like a lasting dream. Josh wished they had more time to say good luck to each other. Even so, he felt like these were the best five minutes of his life. She stood on tip toe and gently ran her lips down his neck; she knew his weak spots well after all the time they'd spent together. That also meant that he knew hers. He pressed two of his fingers along the bottom of her stomach, just on the edge of her belt line and smirked when she almost failed to conceal a soft moan.

"Damn it Kassy, stop that. We…we do…don't have time to get too crazy right now." Her breaths were shallow like his had been only seconds before.

"Yet you kissed my neck anyway, knowing full well how I would react."

"I just know how to get a good reaction out of you." She ran her fingers along his belt line as well, coyly referring to other reactions.

"Josh! Come on we have to go; it's show time!" Aline came running around the corner. She'd heard the sound of his voice on her way by. "Oh my God really? Get a room you two."

"It was working just fine until you just kind of barged in." Annie said, still half engrossed in kissing Josh.

"Sorry to steal him away like this, but we all have orders to carry out. I'll try to bring him back in one or two pieces." She started pulling Josh away.

"I love you; stay safe like I asked alright?"

"As long as you're alive and well I will. I love you too." She straightened up and hurried off to join her own squad.

Aline looked at Josh and rolled her eyes. "Doing that in public? You guys don't worry about decency when you're on the clock do you?"

"Hey we're soldiers; sometimes you just gotta do things down and dirty when the need arises. Besides, if I recall, you're the last person to be telling anyone about decency."

"If we didn't need everyone at 100% right now I'd knock you out. Well either that or if you were Jansen. Speaking of which, I guess we'll see if he's got that war hero in him after all huh?"

"Should be an interesting show either way." They rejoined their compatriots and marched out of the compound together.

"I hope you got that out of your system man, because we need all your focus right now. It's time to get some cutting done." Albrecht looked back at him.

"I'm eager for some payback after what happened at the wall. None of these will be the Colossal, but it's a good enough place to start." Christa smiled encouragingly. As they exited the building, they came out looking over the city towards the wall. Smoke was rising from a number of buildings and in the distance sporadic cannon fire was booming. The sky was pock marked by the rising black funnels and the clouds rolled around above them.

Jansen smiled and took a deep breath as he drew his blades. "It's such a lovely day isn't it?" he made his way to the fore and turned to face his friends. "So boys and girls, what do you say we go and have ourselves a war?"


	8. Chapter 8: Blood and Thunder

Trost was burning. The titan onslaught was gaining ground by the minute; slowly grinding down the defenders. Cannons had stopped firing. That meant that either they'd been destroyed, or that the gun crews were dead. In all honesty, it was probably both. With any heavy support they had out of commission, the Vanguard was most likely being massacred out there. Soon, the cadets would be called in to support what remained. No matter what happened out here, they had to hold the line so the civilians could evacuate. This was a tense moment for every one of them. They all stood up on a roof top in the middle of town. Squad Seven waited anxiously for the order to advance. The waiting for the go ahead was bothering them more than the idea of combat itself. Just sitting there like that gave someone the opportunity to think. Your mind had the tendency to start wandering to the darkest of places and it broke down your resolve. A soldier could ponder all of the terrible what ifs that managed to assail their mind in the moments leading up to a battle. The five of them were trying to keep their heads clear, breaking down now would get them all killed. Nonetheless, the wait was wearing on their nerves.

"Why can't they just have us move up already? Standing here isn't doing us or them any good." Jansen was chomping at the bit to use his swords.

"Maybe they've already sent a runner and we're just waiting for them to show up? It's obvious that the battle isn't going in our favor so that's the only reason I can think of that we wouldn't have orders yet." Josh wasn't near as eager to get stuck in, but staying in one place like this was a bit unnerving. He tried to occupy himself by pacing around.

"The way things are looking at the moment, that runner will be coming from the rear. Anyone that they could have sent from the Vanguard is probably too wrapped up in trying to engage titans. Either that or they're dead." Albrecht didn't like this at all. If messages couldn't be relayed between units, the operation would start falling apart. There would be confusion and the plan would go out the window. He was trying to think of a battle strategy that they could implement in the absence of orders. Hopefully it would work with minimal risk to his team. His thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like screaming.

"That sounds awfully close guys." Christa straightened up.

"God, I wonder what's happening over there?" Aline played with her hilts nervously.

"If we can hear them that well, then they're probably close enough for us to help them out. Maybe they know what's going on. Sitting here with our thumbs in our asses isn't helping anyone like Jansen said. Be ready for combat, let's go!" Albrecht gave the signal for everyone to move out and they took off across the roof tops, jumping from building to building to conserve fuel. They ran as fast as they were able, trying to keep from slipping and falling. Everyone was wondering what they were going to find, even if nobody voiced the idea. Regardless of what awaited them, they needed to be ready. Three blocks over, they came upon the source of the cries.

"I think I know why we haven't gotten orders yet guys." Jansen could feel bile rising in his stomach with anger following close behind it. Josh was dry heaving intermittently. Aline was trying to cover her eyes, but found she was unable to tear them away from the scene unfolding below them.

Down below them on the street, two seven meter titans were eating what remained of a squad of garrison troopers. Body parts and entrails were scattered about as the creatures took bites out of legs, torsos, and heads. The two of them fed upon their prey with gusto. The screams of the dying had either been silenced or devolved into nothing more than bloody gurgling.

"My God, the bastards are just eating them like they're nothing more than big sausages." Josh said in between gags. It was a horrendous sight, not to mention the smell of it all.

"If they made it this far into town, does that mean that the Vanguard has been wiped out too?" Christa's voice had an unmistakable tinge of fear in it.

"Yeah, probably. These guys might be all that's left." Aline watched as a titan snapped the spine of a screaming Garrison trooper before biting him in half. "I can't believe these…things do this to us for no reason. What the hell is wrong with them?!" She was almost shouting, sounding scared and angry at the same time.

"Take a good look ladies and gentlemen." Albrecht looked somber. "This is the reality of our situation. We are finally seeing the reason that we have to put on this uniform in the morning. The regiments exist because these monsters come and feed on us for their sick pleasures. Three years of training and preparing, and now we've seen firsthand what they do to human beings. Collect yourselves as best you can, we have to kill these ones while they're distracted or they'll be coming after us in a minute."

"We're using this as a distraction? They're eating people alive over there!" Josh wasn't the only one who realized how horrible it sounded.

"Our first priority has to be killing them before they can cause any more damage. We can't worry about them before we get that done."

"Right, split into teams then?" Christa was readying her weapons.

"Yes, you and Josh take the one on the left. Aline and I will take the one on the right. Jansen, you check for survivors down below."

"Hey wait a minute. I've been waiting for this opportunity my entire life. Josh and Christa got to face down the Colossal Titan this morning; how come I'm the one getting left out of this fight?" Jansen had straightened up rather quickly to voice his annoyance.

"Seriously, you're going to pull this right now? It's not like these are the only two titans in Trost. I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to bloody your blades today."

"This is really not the time for bickering you guys." Aline was nervously glancing at their quarry.

"If I'm joining the Scout Regiment I'll need as much experience as I can before I go out beyond the walls. The more I titan kills I have under my belt by then, the better."

"So what are we supposed to do? Would you like us to let you fight them all on your own? You're sounding an awful lot like Eren does right now. That kind of braggadocios attitude is the kind of thing that will get people killed out here. I'm the squad leader and I'm not letting any of us die today."

"Alb, come on you of all people know how much this means to me, how long I've been dreaming of this moment. I'm not going to let you put me on the bench today."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, you can go with Aline in my place. Heaven knows why you can't wait a little bit longer, but get your glory hounding under wraps right now. I won't have your personal ambitions putting any of us at risk. Training was one thing, but this is the real world; we're not playing with wooden cutouts anymore."

"That's the point, I'm tired of pretending. I'm ready for the real deal."

"Don't worry Alb; I'll keep him in line. If he acts out at all I'll make sure he gets a swift kick in the balls to straighten him out."

"If you can keep up with me maybe you can try."

"I hate to break up this lively discussion, but we're wasting time. We could've had this done in half the time you two have been arguing about it. Plus, I don't think the enemy will wait around for us to finish talking." Josh was talking more out of anxiety than of actual irritation. The big titan may not have tried to eat him or Christa this morning, but he doubted these two would be so well mannered. This was all a bit much to wrap your head around in one go. They hadn't exactly had any preparation for seeing people get eaten alive. Then again, can you really be prepared to see something like that? Seeing it was a hell of a lot different than hearing stories about it. Jansen seemed to be the only one among them not shaking. It was evident that even Alb, as stoic as he was appearing, had a sense of terror swimming just beneath the surface of his composure. How he was able to mask it so well was beyond him. Perhaps it took his focus away from the fear when he had to hold his position of command? A lot is riding on you when you're in charge after all.

"That's a fair enough point. We need to keep a handle on personal issues until we have the luxury of time. We're soldiers and we have a job to do. Our comrades have been laying down their lives too much already today. Let's get this done so we can move on and connect with anyone who can tell us what's happening. We have to mount the most effective resistance possible. WIR SIND DIE JAGER!" Albrecht gave them the signal to engage. That battle cry of theirs was becoming more and more common.

Jansen was almost off the roof before Alb had finished talking, almost leaving Aline behind entirely. Josh and Christa had opted for a two point maneuver, a strike at the ankles followed closely by crossing around and cleaving out the nape of the neck. The idea was to make this quick and clean, but disabling the enemy first would increase their chances of escaping unscathed. With that in mind, the duo swung downwards simultaneously; their weapons found their mark with ease. Steel met flesh and tore muscles, severing the Achilles tendon on both ankles in a single instant. The creature howled and fell forward into the building, its' legs now next to useless. The weak spot was wide open for butchering. They didn't waste a second. The latched onto the shoulder blades and drove their swords deep into the neck, pushing all the way to the hilt.

Both their hearts were racing, adrenaline coursing through their veins, blotting out fear for the time being. Anger filled the vacancy that it had left. It wasn't clear whether it was directed at the titans or if it was some primal sense of bloodlust. Either way, it was a good emotion to funnel into the task at hand. After all, the foe still needed reaping.

"This is for all of the coffins you filled today you bastard." Josh grimaced and nodded at Christa; she returned the gesture, noticing the destination of his train of thought. They tightened their grip on their weapons and rooted themselves into their stances. With all of the strength available to them, they pulled the blades in opposite directions, carving through sinew and bone. They locked their ODM gear to new points and pushed off. With the extra aid offered by their rigs, the nape was annihilated and the head was ripped clean off. The body slumped to the street below.

Jansen was speeding across the avenue, lengths ahead of Aline. He swung himself in a semi-circle around the titan, looking for the best position from which to launch his assault. He had a bit of madness coloring his eyes. This was the moment of truth. He saw his opening and stuck his grapple into the upper part of its' back, his grip tightening on the trigger to pull him in.

"Jansen, wait a minute! We need to try and cripple it first! If we don't there's a good chance…oh son of bitch!" Aline changed course quickly. The titan had taken notice of Jansen's hook embedding into its' skin and was starting to turn. He tried to disengage, but his momentum was pulling him forward too fast for him to alter his attack vector. He swore under his breath as he wracked his brain for options, finding none. Braking would only give the titan more time to react and grab him and pulling out was no longer a viable route to take. A hideous maw began to open, as if already certain of an impending meal. Jansen had screwed up and he knew it. This could easily become his last action in the next few seconds. So, what does a man do when faced with certain death? He improvises of course.

Jansen took a deep breath and secured his grapples into a chimney just beyond the titan's head. There would barely be one shot at this. He clinched the accelerator as tightly as he dared and his boots struck hard against the titan's face, missing the mouth by inches. He shot himself into the air and over it's' head, where the roof lay before him. Bracing himself for a hard impact, he tucked and rolled onto the roof, cracking a number of shingles once he made contact. He tried his best to ignore the flare of pain rising in his knees. He rose and turned to face his opponent once again, its' unwavering expression meeting his own piercing gaze. Its' arm reached out to grab him. The beast was intent on fulfilling its' ravenous appetite.

"Not today you freak, the Blades of Karanese only come out to slice the meat." He sprung himself up with all of the force he could muster and got above the oncoming grip. With a deep roar, Jansen sliced downwards, severing the hand at the wrist. The sudden absence of a hand seemed to confuse the creature, distracting it from Jansen entirely for a moment. They had to take advantage of this moment, even if it meant sacrificing his first kill. "Aline, take the shot! Kill it now!" She was already ahead of him, seizing the opportunity with vigor. She swung her swords in an X pattern, biting into the flesh with the edge of each blade and driving them deep as she continued her arc. As they made their exit wounds, she was rewarded with a spray of steaming ichor when the nape broke free. The titan screamed and fell into the building, dead.

Aline landed in front of Jansen, the blood evaporating off of her uniform. "That was really reckless. You ran off and tried to attack the titan by yourself and it almost got you killed. Half of a foot short on that run of yours and it would've bitten your leg off. Sure, we downed this one, but we got lucky. You can't take these on without your comrades to back you up and we can't count on them being as slow witted as that one was."

"You should be a little more grateful seriously. I let you have a kill that should've been mine. Another thing, don't start lecturing me about risk taking when you plan on spending your whole career hiding behind these walls. As long as the titan is dead, how we got there doesn't matter. We're both fine so get off of my back." The remark wounded Aline a little more than she wanted to show. Jansen had a fire lit under him and his arrogance was simmering to the top. She wondered where the outburst had come from. He'd never snapped at any of them like that before. Was this who he really was going to be when the fighting started?

Josh and Christa stood across from each other, their own quarry disintegrating beneath them. Their breathing was heavy and labored.

"Not bad for our first one I'd say." Josh panted. "Maybe a bit dramatic, but it was a little easier than I was anticipating." A feeling of relief was starting to settle over him.

"We caught these ones by surprise; it won't be this easy all of the time. This was a lucky break for us." Christa sighed and looked at the carnage on the street. "I hate to say that was because those Garrison troopers were getting devoured when we showed up."

"I wonder how many others suffered the same fate? I have a feeling this is going to be a long and bloody day for all of us." The relief he was feeling melted away as quickly as it had come on. The grim realization that this was the first of many engagements they'd face in the next few hours hung over him like a cloud.

Noticing his change in demeanor, Christa did her best to recover some hopeful words. "Even if it won't be easy, we'll make it through this; we have a good team that we can depend on to get the job done."

"Yeah, but how well is that team going to hold up now that we're finally getting our feet in the fire?" Josh glanced over at their two friends, Jansen was looking pissed off and Aline looked a bit startled. "We're already starting to crack a little under the pressure."

"Everyone, get down here, someone is still alive!" Albrecht's voice broke his focus.

They rest of the squad lowered themselves down to street level and huddled around Albrecht. There was a bloodied woman leaning up against the building; it looked like her legs had been crushed. He turned and shook his head at his squad mates, the woman was dying. They all had basic knowledge of combat first aid, but they certainly weren't doctors by any standard. She probably couldn't be saved even then. The woman coughed up some blood before raising her head and glancing around.

"Hey, you're that sergeant that spoke to us up on the wall this morning!" Christa wasn't the only one that was surprised to see her.

"Cadets of squad seven, I'm sorry that we have to meet again under such circumstances." Each word was coming out raspy. "We were the last survivors of the advance team and by now I assume of the Vanguard as well. Your units are being moved to the front for direct action against the titans. You're now all that stands between them and whatever defense the rear guard has managed to establish during the evacuation. If they push through you, the Vanguard will be unable to cope with enemy numbers and the inner gate will be overwhelmed. If Trost falls today, the human race will follow soon after." Her body was trembling as the color drained from her face.

"We're not going to let that happen. We're going to hold the line, just as you did." Albrecht spoke with conviction.

She laughed, or at least she tried to. Any of the expression she could muster was lost as she coughed up more blood. "Look at you all, you're still just kids and you're out here risking your lives to ensure the future of humanity. I'm not lying when I say that I admire each of you for what you're doing. Just don't go getting yourselves killed; we'll need young people like you to carry the torch."

"I'm sorry we weren't able to get here sooner to help. Maybe some of your squad would still be alive if we had."

"Don't go beating yourself up over it. Its war, people are going to die. All we can do is make sure that every death means something. As I said, you have to carry the torch forward, for all of us who fall today and all of those who have fallen these last five years. Do what you can to make sure we didn't die in vain."

Albrecht clutched her hand tightly in his own, small rivers of red flowing out of the grasp. "I swear on my life that we shall find victory today, whatever it takes. From here on, all we're going to do is advance. No more retreating, no more defeat, the titans will never take this city." He looked into her face, wondering if she had more to say, but she was almost gone. Her eyes had closed and her arm went slack in his grip. There was a final exhalation of breath and she was gone. There was no longer any pain in her features; she had the look of someone who was at peace. It was like his words had made her final moments fulfilling. He was trembling, like his mind was still trying to catch up with everything that had just transpired. Inside, he felt as though he was no more than a small child about to be devoured by the world.

"Damn, that was some speech you gave there. Not sure where that surge of confidence came from, but can you share a little of it with me? I could use a little more courage today." Josh had been surprised at his friend's words.

"To be honest, I don't have any more than you do. I have no idea if victory is even possible with the number of casualties that we've already suffered. I just didn't want her to die thinking that it was hopeless." He rose and faced his compatriots shakily.

"So you think it's already a lost cause then do you? All of that stoicism you tossed at us was BS?" Jansen looked at him disapprovingly.

"I didn't say that…I just don't know how we can win this fight at the moment. If all of the veterans couldn't even slow down the titans, how much better could a bunch of green recruits be faring?"

"We killed two already didn't we? It may not have made all the difference, but it's something. It'll be slow going, but if we're smart I'm sure we can come out of this in one piece. Take everything as it comes, one at a time right Kassy?" Christa was trying her best to lift morale back up again. Even now, her desire to bring everyone up had eclipsed any strands of doubt and fear that tried to take hold.

"Yeah…it may not be a lot to work with, but at the moment it's the best we've got." Josh sighed and straightened up. If she was managing to stay this positive somehow, he might as well try and focus his attention on the same. "Regardless of how you were feeling when you said your bit to the sergeant, we have to move forward with the hope that victory of some kind can be achieved here. To do that, we're going to need you to lead us through this come hell or high water."

"What if I can't make the right decisions; what if I break down the next time? I'm second guessing myself to death here guys."

"You can't know either way until the time comes. I do know this though, we won't have a chance at making it out of this alive without you right there leading us on." Christa offered her hand and helped him up. She smiled her reassuring smile and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've gotten us this far haven't you?"

Albrecht laughed a little in spite of himself. "Josh is right; I have no idea what we'd do without you. You've done more to keep this squad together than anyone ever could."

"It doesn't matter what our chances are. Hope or no hope, I'm going to make the titans eat it for every inch of ground." Jansen growled, eager to jump back into the fray as soon as possible.

Aline looked at him crossly. "See, that's what we've been talking about. You're too focused on racking up your kill count. All of your glory seeking and bravado are going to get you or someone else killed."

"You heard what the lady said, its war, and people will die. As long as their deaths pave the road to victory and freedom for humanity, they should die happy."

"So you'd rather win a battle from atop a mountain of corpses than have the chance to withdraw and fight another day? There need to be people alive in order to continue fighting. If more soldiers were as arrogant as you are, they would all be dead and the human race would've become extinct years ago!"

"So what if I'm a little arrogant? At least I'm not afraid to do what needs to be done. I'd rather be an asshole than a coward any day."

"That's enough! Jansen, you need to back the hell off. I don't know what's gotten into you today, but you better lock it down right now. I will not allow you to suck the rest of us into anymore of these situations. We're supposed to be a squad and everyone needs to be willing to work together. If you're not capable of doing that, then how are we supposed to have your back?" Albrecht was in Jansen's face. His leader qualities were working quickly to reassert themselves.

"Just because they made you squad leader until we pick our regiments doesn't mean I have to listen to you. I was expecting a little bit more commitment and enthusiasm from you guys when we finally got the opportunity to prove our mettle, but you want to play it safe. That's not an option anymore. You saw what those things do to people, you even said yourself that this was the reality of our situation. All of that bravery and calm collection you've been spouting was nothing but a bunch of shit! You expect me to just fall into line after you pull something like that?! Our comrades have been butchered like cattle and I'll be damned if I don't make every single titan pay for it! So if none of you have the balls to help me do that, just stay out of my way!" He was practically screaming. A hand smacked him hard across the side of his face. He was about to punch Albrecht, but the hand stopped him. It was Aline.

"Don't you get it yet you idiot?! We've been friends as long as I can remember. Can't you see that we try so hard to get you to slow down because we don't want you going and getting yourself killed?!" Jansen didn't say a word. He stood there with his eye twitching and his fists shaking; a red hand print fading from his cheek. Everyone was poised for his retaliation.

"I think you broke him." Christa said looking mildly confused.

Jansen was still for another moment before speaking. "Normally I'd want to beat your face in for something like that Aline, but I guess I had that one coming didn't I?"

They all looked stunned for second. No one had been expecting his reaction to be so…calm. He hadn't even thrown out another insult. He let out a long sigh and rubbed at his sore cheek.

"I turned into a real prick there. I'm sure anybody else would have dropped me and left after that. Then there's you, standing here literally smacking sense into me." He looked more than a little embarrassed, his temper ebbing away more and more rapidly. "I don't know how I still have any friends with all of the jackassery you've had to put up with from me."

"Well, if we weren't you'd probably just go bug the hell out of some other poor souls. At least we're used to it by now." Josh laughed.

"Emotions are running high, we get it, this is probably the most stressful day of our lives so far. If we let our emotions cloud our judgment though, that's when mistakes get made. We all know you're eager to make a name for yourself, and every one of us wants a little get back for all this trust me. We just need to be alive to do that. ALL of us need to be alive. You've got serious drive behind you, but don't waste your potential by going down doing something stupid." Aline gave him a hug and everyone else smiled at him.

After a minute Jansen laughed. "This is really sweet of you to hug me like that, but um, don't we have more important things to do?"

"Well, I suppose they can't fight the war without us forever can they?" Albrecht started walking. "We still need to link up with other squads and keep the enemy from advancing any further towards the inner gate. We can't let the sergeant down, I made a promise that I'd like to keep."

"Are we going to kill a few more titans then?" Jansen smirked.

"Just save a few for the rest of us will you?" Aline walked past him, Christa and Josh followed. Their weapons were ready.

"I'm afraid I can't make any promises. Don't worry though; I'll share a little bit of the credit when they start handing out medals."

"I can smack you again if you're starting to relapse."

"I can smack your ass if you're really keen on pushing this whole rough love thing."

Aline may have flushed angrily at the comment, but the rest of them laughed. At least Jansen was more or less back to being himself and she was back to wanting to kill him. It was interesting how quickly moods changed on a day like today. The quintet leapt onto the rooftop of the nearest building and began advancing. It may have been a brutal first experience for them, but they'd faced the trial as a unit and had come out of it no worse for the wear. Well, for the most part anyway. If they were lucky, there'd be a few more people alive after their next one.

Boots clattered over shingles and tiles as they moved forward at a run. Squad seven jumped from building to building, closing on what was supposed to be the front line in an ever changing scenario. Aside from the previous encounter, they hadn't seen any more titans yet. That meant that, at least on this side of town, it had been an isolated incident and the right flank hadn't completely fallen apart…not yet at least. It seemed like it was too quiet though. The sounds of battle should have been present in some regard, but there was only relative silence. The blue was giving way to an overcast sky as clouds starting rolling in; on the horizon, it was looking like rain. It would be on top of them in less than an hour by the looks of things. Hopefully it wouldn't last; none of them had brought their rain cloaks and soggy clothes would weigh them down more, making maneuvers harder. They group paused on the next building to catch their breath and look around. They hadn't seen anyone or anything since their earlier engagement, aside from the occasional body or skeletal remains. It was kind of eerie, not knowing what was going on or where anyone was. Josh hoped that none of their friends had bought it and he was praying that Annie was alright. Christa read his expression like a book.

"I know that look and I know who you're thinking about. Stop worrying though, Annie's a tough girl; she'll be fine. You wouldn't want her to have to worry about you right?"

"Yeah, I know. I just can't help it. After what we saw, It's hard to keep my mind out of the 'what if' area."

"I'm sure we'll find her when we connect with the rest of the company. For now, focus on what's in front of you." Josh nodded to her and turned back to Albrecht and waited to hear his plan.

During their deliberation, there was a distant scream carried to them on the wind. It was coming from around the business district to the west of their position. As the sound dissipated, a thick dark cloud obscured the sun, casting the area in shadow. Hopefully that wasn't an omen of some kind. That was all they needed today, fate throwing them under the carriage. They resolved to alter their course in the direction of the cries with the hopes of finding a few of their comrades. Even one or two people would be better than nothing at this point. As they ran across more rooftops, Jansen mused that even running into a titan would be preferable to the damnable empty quiet. That's one of those things that you don't say, ever. Chances are that the moment someone says that, you'll get more than you bargained for. The universe seems to have a really black sense of humor like that. No sooner had Jansen finished his sentence, one of the monsters leapt up onto the roof in front of them, pouncing like some feral cat. A second one was trying to swat at them from down below. They were both easily twice the size of those that they last encountered.

"You just had to say it didn't you?" Aline groaned. "Now we've got two fifteen meters to deal with and one of them is an abnormal!"

"Evasive maneuvers! Don't let it get a bead on you!" Albrecht dodged to the right as it lunged for him.

"What's the plan; do we engage them or do we try and run?!" Josh followed him.

"If we're dealing with an abnormal, that makes it twice as dangerous as a normal one. If we don't take it out, it might head for the inner gate next. We really don't need it sneaking up on anyone else. Jansen and I will distract the other one, the rest of you focus on our eccentric guest."

"We're on it Alb." He swung around and came in alongside Aline and Christa. "We're going to want to hit this thing from every angle. We have no idea what it's going to do so we have to be quick with our attacks."

"Strike the ankles, biceps, and then the neck right?" Christa enquired.

"Yeah, ideally we get the first two at the same time, then that pouncing thing it does will be impossible."

"I got the legs; you and Christa can disable his arms."

"Then let's do this, we need to get to whoever was yelling before they become lunchmeat."

They separated, trying to stay as high above the abnormal as possible as they moved into their positions. The abomination was clumsily flailing around, falling all over itself trying to decide which of them it wanted to eat. Its jaws were snapping at their feet as it became more frustrated. It slipped coming down from the next jump and fell on its face. This was the best opportunity to kill it, while it was relatively still. They oriented themselves to their approach vectors quickly and zoomed forward, blades raised. Aline neatly cut both ankles upon contact, severing the tendons in the blink of an eye. The titan howled and swung out with both arms, grasping for them. Each arc went either wide or short of their positions, but it was only a matter of time before one found its mark.

"Well that just made our job a little more difficult. How are we going to avoid getting back handed with him doing that?" Josh glanced over at Christa, hoping she had an idea or two.

"We may just have to go for the neck, it may not notice if we come straight up the b…" She stopped suddenly, both her words and her movement. There was a brief flash in her eyes. "Kassy…" She jerked backwards and down into the roof of the building below. She impacted hard, tiles splintering out from where she landed. The titan had gotten a hold of her cable mid swing.

"CHRISTA!" Josh screamed and flipped himself around. When she tried to stand, it picked her up and held her in its fist. Josh's blood ran cold as it opened its hideous gullet, pulling her in to take a bite. Every single element of his composure fractured in that instant. This was not happening; she was the last person among them who should die. He aimed for the exposed nape, time was short. Suddenly, logic abandoned him and terror filled every bone in his body. If he struck and his blades didn't go deep enough, or god forbid, if he missed entirely, Christa was dead; she'd be bitten in half. The next couple of seconds passed like a year. Hundreds of different thoughts crashing around inside his brain, until one stood out. It flooded him with a strange purpose and tossed away regard for his own safety. Josh wouldn't let this happen. She wasn't going to die, even if he had to take her place. He collected his thoughts and grimaced. She'd probably never forgive him for this, but he had to do it. _"Annie, I'm sorry. If I make it through this though, you can beat the crap out of me for doing it."_ He changed course to the right.

Josh buried his hooks into the side of the abnormal's face and speed forward. "LET HER GO YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He slammed into the cheek of the monster, driving his swords into the side of its head down to the locking mechanism on the blades. At the velocity he'd been going he was lucky he didn't dislocate both of his arms. The jarring collision left him feeling off balance and dizzy, his head and chest throbbing with pain. He'd more than likely bruised a few ribs and given himself a concussion. Josh's vision was swimming and his ears were ringing. The attack had the desired effect though. Christa plopped back down, released from the literal grip of death. She got to her feet and turned. The titan had completely forgotten about her in lieu of the sharp blades now lodged in its' skull. Now, its' hand went for the barely conscious soldier clinging to the side of its' head.

It was a strange reversal of what hand just happened and she doubted that she'd be the only one yelling at him for it later. But right now, someone had to save him from the reaper. She drew forth her weapons and vaulted off of the chimney behind her, getting a bit of height advantage on their foe. She could see Aline running up alongside of the wounded beast, no doubt having surmised that someone needed rescuing. In the time that they had however, she wouldn't reach the neck before it was too late. Christa flung herself over the titan's head and with a spinning motion, cleaved the weak spot out along with a sizeable amount of gore. Without a sound, the monster collapsed onto its' chest.

As it crashed to the tile, the force of the shaking cost Josh his grip. He hit the roof and rolled down the sloping surface of the structure before finding himself in the air. His limbs had failed him and his body had become next to useless. Six floors below him, the ground approached. Falling had more than once been how fate had tried to end him. The way it was turning out right now, it might just succeed this time around. What few thoughts he could coordinate found it ironic that after what just happened, a fall would be the way he went out. His vision cleared for the briefest of moments and as the grey sky receded from his sight in slow motion, he blacked out.


End file.
